Safe Haven
by Solo Ensemble
Summary: [Liason COMPLETE]After faking her death to save the Spencers and the Cassidines, Elizabeth Webber is carted off to the private island of Sonny Corinthos to hide out and recuperate, where she is soon joined by a very concerned and irate Jason Morgan.
1. Safe Haven prt 1

**Safe Haven**

Nikolas Cassidine paced nervously aboard his yacht, almost choking under the powerful solitude that enveloped him. He had long since sent all his servants from the boat; his grandmother had already left but Lucky was still rampaging around from room to room, bellowing at the top of his lungs and breaking everything he could get his hands on.

For that reason, Nikolas had stolen away to one of the formal parlors and it was there that he paced back and forth. His cell phone had rarely left his ear over the last hour as he desperately tried to get word on Elizabeth's condition.

She had done it. She had saved them all.

Helena wanted her poisoned. And she had wanted him to do it. It would be his ultimate and most perfect test; ending the life of the woman he claimed to love in a show of his never-ending devotion to the Cassidine name. He had done it. Helena had triumphed. Lucky had a mental breakdown.

And Elizabeth…Elizabeth's fate was still unknown.

"_I'm told that they should be reaching the island soon."_ Sonny Corinthos' rough voice finally reached his ears. The two of them had been playing phone tag for the last hour, trying to get information on the whereabouts of Sonny's ship and Elizabeth's condition. The news wasn't good, and Nikolas only got momentary relief from the fact that the little boat would be docking soon.

"You've got doctors on hand for the landing?"

"_Yes. They're waiting for her at the pier. She'll be taken to the main guard house and put under constant surveillance." _There was a pause. _"She'll make it through this, Nikolas. She's strong. She's a fighter. Helena Cassidine can't snuff her. She'll have the best care that my money can buy, and she will make it out of this safely."_

The young prince pinched the bridge of his nose. Before, Sonny Corinthos' word would have meant sh!t to him. Now, it was all he had left to cling to.

"_Lucky. What – What's going on?"_

Nikolas' sigh was heavy at the mobster's question. "He's still on the yacht. He came on after Helena left, and when he saw her body…" He had to pause for a minute, recalling that time only an hour ago when he himself had believed that his best friend had died, and by his hand, too. "He's lost it. I – I don't know how to reach him. He's gone off the edge. There's no talking to him."

The silence that followed was thick and oppressive as each man tried to wrap his own head around the situation at hand. Finally, Sonny broke the silence. _"She can't go back to him."_

"I-"

"_No. Nikolas, listen to me. You don't like me and I don't like you, but we both have one big thing in common – we both love that little girl. She's not safe with him. He'll hurt her. I know the signs, and I'm sure of it. Whatever happens between the Spencers and the Cassidines happens – but she can't be mixed up in your family feud any longer. She's paid enough and I won't have her pay anymore."_

There was static over the line and before Nikolas could say anything, Sonny's voice met his ears once more. _"I have to go. I'll call you when they get to the island and one of my men will keep you posted."_

And with that, he clicked off his phone and the young prince was left with the dial tone. With a sigh, he dropped the phone on a lush cushion and collapsed on the overstuffed couch. His heels found the ornate, polished coffee table with a dull thud and Nikolas massaged his temples. Lucky's footsteps echoed out in the hall as the younger man bellowed and searched for him, demanding that he step out like a man and face the consequences for killing Elizabeth.

Nikolas didn't want to do it, but he realized that he had better call some of his men to remove Lucky from the boat and take him to Wyndemere, where he would at least be kept safe. It wouldn't be good for him to be running around, half-crazed and disoriented. A deep sigh made the young Prince's chest tremble and he leaned wearily back into the cushions and let his heavy eyes close.

Sonny was right. As much as he hated admitting it, the mobster was right. Elizabeth could never go back to Lucky. He didn't want her to; he loved his brother dearly but he didn't want him near Elizabeth again. Over the past few months, he had watched Elizabeth's spirit flicker, slowly fading, as she struggled to help Lucky maintain his precarious grip on reality. Sonny spoke the truth: she had paid enough. Elizabeth didn't deserve to inherit an age-old war between the Spencers and Cassidines just because Lucky couldn't let her go. He would have to. Because Elizabeth needed to be safe. She needed more.

She had done more than anyone expected her to in complying with his wishes. Helena wanted proof his loyalty to her and the price was Elizabeth. She had agreed; she had thrown herself down on the sacrificial pyre and done what was needed. She had fallen on the lush red carpet of the yacht, as deep and dark as the crimson wine that had sealed her fate, and Nikolas had honestly believed that she was gone.

But ever the survivor, Elizabeth came back to him. She woke up and opened those big, beautiful, merciful and compassionate eyes and his heart began to sing. He hadn't killed his best friend. He hadn't killed the woman that would save his family. She was fine and he was going to make sure that she stayed that way. But even as he lifted her limp and weak body onto a bed where she would be more comfortable, Nikolas had noticed the change in her. Her eyes – scared before, wide with panic and uncertainty – spoke to him now. They shone with a newfound strength of conviction, and something told him that she wouldn't be the same again.

She had made the biggest sacrifice any individual could – she had given her life, not knowing if she would wake up to claim it again. She died in the name of her love for Lucas Lorenzo Spencer, Junior, the same man who picked her up out of the snow and gave her a new reason to live. She hadn't died herself, but something told Nikolas that her devotion to Lucky, the idea that she owed him for what he did for her, had died instead.

And when Sonny told him that he didn't want Elizabeth to go back to Lucky, it only reinforced what Nikolas already believed. What he said, what Lucky said, what Sonny said didn't matter; Elizabeth Webber would not be going back to Lucky Spencer, and it would be of her own choosing. She didn't owe him anymore. A life for a life. Her debt was repaid.

It was sad to think that was what their once great love had become – a debt. Nikolas had witnessed first hand the bond between his little brother and Elizabeth, and had found himself wishing many times before that he would be lucky enough to have that with someone one day. But in the end, it was violated. It had become a cruel, cold debt.

One that Elizabeth had repaid.

One that she would not be revisiting.

His phone rang and Nikolas instantly roused himself, lunging for it and lifting it to his ear. "Yeah?"

"_The boat has docked. They're tying it up and taking Elizabeth to the house."_

A sigh of relief had him collapsing back on the couch again. "Thank you."

"_No problem. She's going to be fine." _Sonny's voice wavered for a minute but the mobster cleared his throat gruffly before it could do so again. _"I'll keep her safe, Nikolas. Nothing is going to happen to her. I promised her that a long time ago, you know – that she would be safe. And that if there was ever anything that she needed, I'd provide it for her."_

"Sonny-"

"_She's in no condition to say anything right now, but I know that if she was, she'd ask me to protect you and Lucky and your families. She loves all of you and wants you safe. I'm offering you my services, Nikolas – if there is anything I can do, do not hesitate to ask me."_

"I don't want your help, Corinthos."

"_This isn't about you or me, Cassidine."_ The Cuban's voice had an edge of warning to it. _"This is about Elizabeth. She wants you safe. I'm in a position to assist. My offer stands – if you need something, I will provide."_

Nikolas grimaced at the wall, forcing his lips to form the words he _really_ didn't feel like saying. "Thank you."

"_I'm told Elizabeth is inside the house now. If you need the direct line to her-"_

"You already gave me the number."

"_Oh, okay. That's about it, then, I guess…"_

"Who's down there with her?" Nikolas shifted on the couch, trying to remember the name of that bodyguard Elizabeth often spoke highly of. "That guy – Frank, Franco…"

"_Francis. Francis Corelli."_

"Right. Is he there with her?"

"_No, he's not."_

"What about O'Brien? Is he there?" He was listening expectantly, hoping for an affirmative answer. "I don't want her to wake up afraid and alone. I want someone down there that she trusts, that she gets along with. Is O'Brien on the island?"

Sonny's voice was silky and smug. _"No, he's not. But I have an idea of the perfect person to send down there."_

Nikolas didn't like it, but for once, it was time to think of what Elizabeth wanted, what Elizabeth needed. "Do it. Do your best."

Paco gently stroked the brunette's silky hair off her forehead. Poor girl. She looked like hell. Circles under her eyes, tension lines on her face that granted ten additional years to her tender age, her full lips twisted into a sour and trouble frown. Poor little girl.

His sigh was soft as he lifted a pitcher of cool water and filled the glass at her bedside. She had gotten quite hysterical on the ship on their way to the island and he and the men had no choice but to sedate her. She would be coming to soon, and she would be thirsty.

"Paco."

The bodyguard looked up to see one of the other men – a barrel-chested young Englishman by the name of George – standing at the door.

"_Que pasa?"_

The jerky tilt of George's head gave him the answer, and Paco let out a nervous breath. It was time for them to leave. He was rising from the bed, slowly so as not to jostle the sleeping girl at his side, when his eyes drifted to her face and he noticed that she was awake and staring confusedly back at him.

At first he didn't know what to do, so he just blinked at her, not wanting to speak first. Her eyes drifted around the room and those slender dark brows furrowed.

"Where…" Her voice was groggy and somewhat slurred. "Where am I?"

"You are on the private island of Sonny Corinthos," he informed her gently in a thick Spanish accent. "You were brought here from the Cassidine yacht."

She nodded slightly, a jerky movement of her head, as she slowly began to recall recent events. "And who are you?"

"My name is Paco. I am one of Mr. Corinthos' guards." He rose to his feet slowly, bracing one hand on the mattress to keep from jostling her with the absence of his weight. Her dark eyes, alarmingly blue, lifted up to his.

"Wait, where are you go-"

"I will be out in the hall, _seniorita_, if you need me for anything. Do not hesitate to call."

"But, wait-" Her hand lifted, imploring him not to leave until she regained her bearings. God, she hated to sound so dependent but right now, she couldn't help it – she was just so damn confused. "Don't leave me alone-"

Another man appeared in the doorway, stealing the words from her lips. Elizabeth's heart leaped to her throat and she couldn't help but wonder if she was imagining the man in a confused, drug-induced haze. He couldn't really be there, could he? Standing just a couple feet away from her in his blue jeans and a fitted white t-shirt, his hair unruly and mussed from the breeze that caressed the small island. His eyes were wide, wider than she had ever seen them, and his concern for her was evident.

Elizabeth's hands fisted in the sheets and she drew her lip in between her teeth, dragging her gaze over him. He _was _here. Jason was here. Paco glanced up at him, nodding respectfully, and sent a rueful smile in Elizabeth's direction.

"Take my word, _senorita_," he said smoothly, already sidling out of the room past the tall blonde man at his side. "You will not be alone."


	2. Safe Haven prt 2

**Safe Haven Part 2**

Paco stole out of the room like a giddy little schoolgirl and almost immediately ran into George and a couple of the other men. Darting a quick glance at the room, where Jason still stood in the doorway as if transfixed, Paco led his friends to the opposite end of the second story where they could talk. They let themselves into a guest bedroom and one look at his young English friend told Paco that George already had Johnny O'Brien on the phone.

"Hit speaker," he instructed, and George did as he was told. Seth, a tall freckled guard with muddy-brown hair, flopped down on a lounge chair and tented his fingers wickedly as Johnny's voice flowed from the intercom.

"_Guys."_

"Hey, Obie," George grinned. "Checking in just like you told us to."

They heard him draw in a quick breath. _"So? He's there?"_

"That's why we're calling you, _imbecile,_" Paco muttered, crossing his arms over his solid chest. "Señor Morgan just arrived."

"_And?! Damn it, don't leave me hanging here! What happened?"_

"I showed him upstairs, Sir," George informed the top guard. "I took him to Miss Webber's room."

"_How was he acting? What did he do?" _

Under any other circumstances, Johnny's curiosity and excitement would have been ridiculously out of character. Hell, the same held true for all the men gathered in the sunny bedroom. But that didn't seem to keep them from giggling like little girls at the lunchroom table; things like this just didn't happen every day.

"He was freaking out, Mr. O'Brien," George replied not without a touch of glee. "You should have seen him – I've never seen him that out of control. He kept barking orders for the men to dock the boat faster and then as soon as it touched the pier, he jumped off and took off for the house."

"It was great, Boss," Seth agreed with a grin. "I don't know how I kept quiet."

"_Maybe because you knew he'd bust your balls if you laughed," _Johnny chuckled.

"Probably. I didn't even bother trying to follow him up the shore – George was there. Besides, we had to tie up the boat. Can't lose another one like we did last year."

"_What happened then? Damn it, Corinthos wants a full report here."_

Paco laughed. Considering his boss' friendly relationship with Elizabeth and close bond with Jason, he had no doubt that the moblord was kicking his heels in the air over this one. "George?"

The English guard grinned at the phone. "Yeah, so he came running into the house and almost took me out in the process. It took me a good couple of minutes just to get him to calm down and let him know that, yes, Elizabeth really _was_ upstairs."

"He hasn't seen her for, what, six months, right?" Paco asked curiously, listening for an answer.

"_Something like that," Johnny agreed. "Ever since he left Port Charles."_

"Wait, one thing," Seth interrupted. "Why'd he leave in the first place?"

"He went to Puerto Rico, numb nuts. You remember that."

The guard scowled at redheaded Trey Mitchell, the resident doctor on the island. "Listen, jackass, any of us could have handled the job he went down there to do, so don't tell me he had to leave because of business."

"_He's right," _Johnny interceded, his voice crackling slightly over the intercom. _"The known story is that he left because of business – that's what everyone's supposed to think."_

"Everyone with less than three brain cells," Paco smirked. "I wasn't even _in_ Port Charles at the time and even _I_ know what really happened."

"What?"

"Basically, the little senorita in the other room helped Senor Morgan when he first arrived," Paolo explained patiently for his less-than-three-brain-cells friends. "They spent a lot of time together during his entire stay."

Johnny was snickering. _"Oh, yeah."_

"And it was clear that…" he lowered his voice slightly. "Señor was developing feelings for the little senorita."

"Yeah, I heard that, too," Seth agreed. "That's what made me ask."

"Please," Trey scoffed. "We _all_ know Jason really well; if he wanted her, he would have taken her."

The Spanish guard frowned at the cavalier tone of his friend's voice. He made everything sound so crude. "It was different with her, Trevor."

"Yeah? How?"

"Isn't she about eight years younger than him?" George tossed in, leaning back against the handsome armoire in the corner by the windows.

"_She is," _Johnny validated.

Paco was nodding. "There was the age difference, first of all. Elisabeta was friends with the _hermanita_; had been so since they were back in high school. And Jason didn't know how she felt about Emilia finding out. Also, the two of them were very good friends before and he didn't know how to make the transition from friends to-"

"_More than friends," _Johnny supplied smugly.

It was the Spanish guard's turn to be confused. "¿Qué?"

"_More than friends," Johnny repeated, not intending to say any more than that. "Let's just say that guarding Elizabeth had its perks – I always knew what was going on between them before everyone else."_

"Thanks for sharing, pissant," Paco muttered. "Anyway, he took things slowly with Elisabeta because he did not wish to scare her away."

"Didn't she stay with her boyfriend, though?" George asked.

Paco nodded, rolling his eyes. _"¿El loco? Sí."_

Johnny was laughing. _"El loco. I like that."_

"Wait – is that why Mr. Morgan left?" Seth asked, sitting up straighter in his seat. "Because of her?"

"_Don't let it get out," Johnny warned. "As obvious as it may be. But yeah – he asked her to run away with him and she couldn't do it. So he felt it would be better for the both of them if he left."_

Trey was having a hard time digesting this. It didn't make sense to him – out of all four bodyguards in the room, he had known Jason the longest, and he knew what kind of man he was. Jason Morgan did not get hung up over his little sister's friends, and he certainly didn't flee the country with his tail between his legs just because he was shut down.

"Did he – did he love her?"

Over the phone, Johnny scoffed. _"No shit, asshole. What clued you in?"_

Paco was laughing. "It seems fairly clear that he did and does, Trevor," he informed the doctor. "In fact-"

"Trey! Paco!"

The men stilled, looking at each other blankly before jumping into action. "Hang on, Mr. O'Brien," George called out in the general direction of the phone as he sprinted out of the room after Paco.

"_Señor_?" Paco's voice was rough as he came to a crashing halt in the hallway. Jason was in the bathroom filling a small washbasin with cold water and searching the cabinets for a handcloth. "_¿Qué pasa?_"

"She fainted." Fat drops of water dripped from Jason's hands as he turned off the water and hastily rushed out of the bathroom, sloshing some of the water from the basin onto the floor.

Paco and Trey looked at each other and the Spanish guard immediately followed their boss into the nearby bedroom. Seth and George hung around by the door, anxiously awaiting orders and seeing if there was anything they could possibly do. Trey pushed through them a few minutes later, carrying his doctors' briefcase just in case and cursing under his breath. Elizabeth had been drifting in and out of consciousness since she had been put on the boat, and he didn't like it. The sedative should have worn off a little while ago, but she still hadn't come out of it. And now she had fainted. Fucking great.

"Elizabeth?" Jason was sitting at her side, stroking her silky brown hair behind her ears, his fingers feathering over her petal-soft porcelain skin as he begged her to wake up. "Come on, Elizabeth, come on."

Paco wrung out the washcloth in the basin and moved closer, smoothing it out over Elizabeth's forehead. She was quite warm, and he refilled her glass of water as Trey pulled out his thermometer and stethoscope.

"A little congestion in the chest," he muttered. "Slight fever."

"Do something," Jason hissed. "Instead of pointing out the obvious."

Trey quirked a brow at his old friend. "How about you tell me what happened right before she fainted?"

A muscle in Jason's jaw ticked and Paco waited nervously for the answer. Just how much would Señor Morgan say? That is, if he would say anything at all. Paco believed that Jason loved the girl, and that was reason enough for him to keep his mouth shut. He knew enough of Jason to know that the man was fiercely protective of his privacy, and even though he wasn't superstitious by nature, he had the peculiar belief that as soon as he acknowledged that he desired something, it would be snatched away from him.

"I…I was standing there. At the door."

Trey bit his lip, fiddling absently with his stethoscope and then rearranging the cool cloth on Elizabeth's forehead. Paco had said that Jason had been in love with the girl; the wobble in the enforcer's voice certainly wasn't his best defense against that allegation. His voice when he spoke had lost its gruff tone. "She had seen you?"

Jason dipped his head once. "Yeah."

Paco couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Senor? Did she say something?"

It took the enforcer a minute to shake his head. "No. I…I stood by the door and she just looked at me. I think she tried to say something, but I spoke at the same time and she just…fainted."

Trey sighed to himself, his soft breath causing Elizabeth's silky strands to flutter. The girl seemed fine otherwise; all effects of the toxin the Cassidine prince had given her had almost disappeared, and it was clearer now that the sedative was wearing off as well. Under normal circumstances, she would have been fine by now. A little groggy and a little dizzy, perhaps, but fine otherwise. And yet, the girl had fainted. Maybe it wasn't the virulence of the foreign substances injected into her body within the span of the last few hours – maybe it was her surprise over seeing Jason that caused her to faint.

"She'll be fine," he murmured, rising from the bed and taking care not to jostle her. "She's just weak. She'll come to in a little while, and when she does I want her to eat. I'll leave directions with Betty downstairs on what to prepare for her."

"Chicken soup," Jason sighed under his breath, earning a curious glance from both Paco and the doctor.

"What?" Trey waited for a reply but when it was clear that he wasn't going to get one, he cleared his throat and motioned for the men to clear the room. "We should let her rest. Come on."

Seth and George, still stationed by the door, hastily retreated to let Jason pass. He waited as Trey gave Elizabeth a last glance before shutting her door halfway, and then spoke tersely to the men gathered around him. "Downstairs. Now."

Paco gulped as Jason turned hard on his heel and descended the wooden staircase, his gaze darting from one man to the next. Seth was shrugging uncomfortably. "Let's go."

The men sighed and followed their boss downstairs. Jason was waiting for them in the formal office that the top guard always used whenever someone of importance was placed on the island for safety. It was a conference room combined with a makeshift panic room, making it possible to view every room in the house as well as the surrounding property and piers. Jason had already moved to the far wall where all the television monitors were mounted to a sturdy oak bookshelf that stretched from floor to ceiling and was fiddling with the remote. He finally set the camera to Elizabeth's bedroom just in case she should wake up suddenly and be frightened of her new surroundings.

Paco shifted his weight slightly when the enforcer turned, his face as hard as steel. "Someone," the blonde man growled, stalking forward menacingly. "Is going to tell me exactly what the hell is going on."


	3. Safe Haven prt 3

**Safe Haven – Part 3**

For the first time in the three months that had passed since he had taken a bullet to the chest, Paco Beltrán Valencia was scared for his life.

"What the fuck do you mean, _she faked her death_?" Jason Morgan was beyond irate, beyond furious, beyond all those colorful adjectives that were meant to describe anger but didn't even come close to the raw, turbulent power of whatever was coursing through his veins at the moment. "She has no _reason _to fake her death – she's a goddamn kid! She paints and makes brownies and works at the hospital! Who in their goddamn mind would want to fucking _kill_ her?"

George opened his mouth, but a warning glare from Paco had him snapping it shut. Jason may have asked the question, but the answer would land them all in even more hot water. Right now, the enforcer just wanted to destroy things – as the poor wooden chairs now heaped in the corner could testify.

"And how the hell am I just finding out about this now? Where was my god damn phone call? Why didn't anyone call me when she needed me? _She didn't have to do this!_"

Trey shuffled his feet and looked away as his friend stopped, staring at the havoc he had wreaked in the room. A tortured sigh trembled through his chest as he watched Elizabeth sleep on the monitors a few paces away, and Jason sat down slowly on the corner of his desk when his knees threatened to give way.

Paco glanced at each of his friends in turn, and judging from their returned looks, it was obvious that they wanted him to take the lead. He was the one to handle this best – George's innocent yammering, Trey's sardonic remarks, Seth's quick quips, none of them would do right now. What Jason needed was the solid truth; good, clean answers to the horrible, twisted mess.

Jason's voice was low and strained, his back ramrod straight as he stared at the monitor where Elizabeth was mumbling something in her sleep. "Why did she do this?"

His steps were heavy as he ascended the steps, and Jason's entire body felt like lead. Head still swimming from the lengthy and roundabout explanation Paco had given him, the enforcer was just doing his best to put one foot in front of the other and somehow remember how to keep his balance at the same time. It had come as quite a shock to him to learn what Elizabeth had risked to save the Spencers and Cassidines; he didn't think that they were worth her life by any means, but she seemed to. And she was always as stubborn as a mule when it came to helping those she cared for – it was why she had stuck by his side for so long when he sure as hell hadn't been worthy. He couldn't see her drinking poison and crumpling unconscious to the ground, and this was one of the few moments in his life when Jason Morgan was thankful for the fact that his visual perception had been impaired by the accident. Because he never wanted to see something like that; he'd rather be blind than to ever lay eyes on her lifeless body. And knowing that his sweet, beautiful Elizabeth had knocked on Death's door and managed to run away made him want to do nothing more than sit by her side and watch over her. It was a bit too little a bit too late, but it was all that he could offer her.

Her lashes were fluttering when he entered the sunny room, her lips parted on some unspoken word. Chocolate bronze hair streaming over the soft blue pillow, her pale porcelain skin basked in the healthy glow of the afternoon sun, she looked more like a fallen angel than the young woman he had grown so accustomed to leaving and returning to.

But seeing her, so peaceful and defenseless and innocent, only served as an invitation for his anger to come barreling back through his veins. What had she been _thinking_? Had she been thinking at all? Clearly not – otherwise, she never would have taken such a stupid risk.

"They're not worth it," he growled, grabbing a wooden chair sitting alongside the desk in the corner and pulling it up to her bedside. Jason flipped it around easily and straddled it, crossing his arms over the backrest and glaring pensively at her angelic form. "Damn it, Elizabeth, they're not _worth_ it – no one's worth your…your…"

_Your life. No one's worth your life._

"No one's worth what you mean to me," he whispered harshly, unconsciously grinding his chin into the knuckles of his right hand as he rested his head on his fingers. "How could you do this, Elizabeth?" An answer didn't seem possible, even if Elizabeth was awake. An answer didn't seem to exist. Anger made his stomach clench painfully, his heart constrict, his throat tighten. And Elizabeth smiled innocently in her sleep.

Knuckles white from gripping the chair so hard, Jason narrowed his eyes accusingly at her. "You almost _died_."

There. He had said it. How could he have thought it wouldn't hurt so much to put that realization into words? The words _were _painful; poison-coated barbs that pierced their way through his heart. Shaking his head, Jason refused to succumb to the images of that threatened to flood his mind; images of Elizabeth's cold, lifeless body lying at the feet of Helena Cassidine.

"You almost died. How could you…Don't you know…Damn it, Elizabeth!"

Her fingers curled, as if she was trying to grasp something in her dream, then relaxed once more.

"Wake up so I can yell at you," he muttered under his breath, shifting his long legs around the legs of the hard wooden chair. "This is a first, huh? Me talking, you sleeping? Too bad for you – you'd probably say you've never heard me talk this much."

Her raven lashes fluttered.

Jason sat still and watched her, willing her in his mind to wake up. Jesus Christ, _this_ was their reunion. Stranded on Sonny's island in the bumfuck Pacific, with a deadly poison swimming through her bloodstream. Stupid woman.

"How do you get yourself mixed up in this?" he demanded, bristling when she slept peacefully on. Damn her for being so unconcerned when all he wanted to do was put his fist through the wall. "What happened to going to PCU and painting? Why did you jump in the middle of all this? And what about…" His throat tightened on the next unsavory word. "Lucky. What about him? Where was he when you were getting yourself killed?"

The words were no sooner out of his mouth than he recoiled, feeling as if something had hit him straight in his stomach. "You…You died for him, didn't you?" She didn't move. "Yeah, I know how that goes. You…you love him. You'd do anything for him."

Jason's brow crumpled as he rested his forehead against the back of his hands on the chair. "But, God, Elizabeth – _poison_? You let Nikolas _poison_ you? Trey told me about that strain – one drop too much and I…I never would have seen you again, Elizabeth." The thought was too much for him and he peeked out at her, still silent under the powder blue sheets. She looked much smaller to him now, much more fragile, as if the sea of pale blue linen was threatening to drown her. "How did I not know?"

There was a time when he knew everything about her. He had but to look at her face, look directly into those sparkling sapphire orbs and he knew what was on her mind before she even said anything. Those were the days he loved best; when no words were needed. Today was not one of those days – words _were_ needed. He needed her to get up and speak more than he needed anything else. It didn't matter that she'd get up and tell him that she was fine, that this was something she had to do, that she loved Lucky and would be going back to him as soon as the danger passed. It just didn't matter. The only thing he wanted was for her to say something, anything.

"You could have come to me or Sonny," he whispered. His hand moved, as of its own volition, and hesitantly made its way toward her temple. Jason stroked the downy strands of chocolate, memorizing their texture, not wanting to draw his hand away and break his only connection with her. "I would have done anything to help, Elizabeth, you know that. You know _me._ There's nothing I wouldn't give you if you asked for it."

The corner of her mouth twitched and she let out a soft moan, rubbing her cheek on the pillow.

Jason's hand abandoned her hair and traveled down to her hand. It was small, just as dainty and soft as it had been the last time he had captured it in his. His rough thumb stroked the rose-petal skin, sweeping large, tender, and slightly hesitant strokes across her hand and twining her fingers with his. They fit perfectly, as they always had. For reasons he had yet to put into words, holding her, just this small part of her, filled him with unimaginable content. The only downside was his realization that if she had been awake, he wouldn't be able to do this.

"I didn't know," he whispered, squeezing lightly. "I didn't know, Elizabeth. I didn't know what you were fighting. If I had, I…I would have come back. I would have come back to you. It…It doesn't matter – none of it matters. It's okay that you didn't come away with me. I don't blame you, Elizabeth. I never did. I..It wasn't right of me to ask. But it doesn't change anything – it doesn't change how I…how I feel about you."

He pushed his chair closer with his muscular legs, bringing her hand up to his lips and feathering a butterfly kiss over her knuckles. "If you needed me, nothing could have kept me away. I…I know you don't like the word, but I would have saved you, Elizabeth. You didn't have to do the saving yourself."

If he wasn't mistaken, her hand twitched in his grasp and Jason boldly kissed the back of it. "I just turned my back for a minute, and I come back and see…this." His blue eyes raked a reluctantly admiring gaze over her. "If you were awake, you'd go off on me for saying this, but…I didn't know you had it in you to do something like this, Elizabeth. Standing up against Helena Cassidine is…" He almost couldn't finish his sentence. "I'm supposed to be the one in the line of fire; when did you join me? And how did I not know?"

Jason shook his head sadly. "I wasn't there for you when you needed me. I wanted to help so badly, Elizabeth. I…I was listening to Paco tell me everything about what you did and…I…it was like watching one of those scary movies Emily likes. The ones that don't make any sense, and you know it's not real but you're scared anyway. The worst part was that this _was _real and I…I left. If I had stayed, if I had taken my head out of my ass for just two seconds…" He stopped, his lips still hovering over the back of her hand, and shook his head ruefully. "I never think in _ifs_. But you already knew that. I never did a lot of things, Elizabeth. Neither did you. But we're both here. We're both in this."

Her full lips parted, offering him a teasing glimpse of her pink tongue, and Elizabeth's brows furrowed. The hand still in his twitched, her delicate fingers moving against his long, rough ones. "I don't know what will happen from here, Elizabeth. I don't know how long you're going to stay, and I don't know how you're going to go back home." But he did know _who_ she'd be going back home to, and that thought made his stomach clench painfully once more.

But at least Lucky wasn't here right now – this moment was all _his_.

"But I'll be here for you if you need me." A muscle in his jaw ticked when she stretched slightly, her lashes fluttering lightly. "I'll never forget how I felt when Sonny called me and told me that he'd sent you to his island for protection. That was all he said – he just told me to get my ass back here as fast I could. Do you…do you remember finding me when I got shot?" It was a stupid question, and he berated himself like he imagined Elizabeth would if she had heard him. "You know how you had to pick me up, how I couldn't walk on my own? Getting shot…it knocked the breath out of me, Elizabeth. It just cut through my knees and made it impossible to move or stand independently. It was…just like that when he called. I couldn't think of anything else – I just knew I had to get to you. I'm here, Elizabeth. I'm ready to do whatever you need me to do." He swallowed thickly when her hand slipped from his grasp. "If you'll let me help."

His fingers grazed her temples once more, missing the warmth of her hand in his. She muttered something and turned her face into his touch until his palm was cupping her cheek, his thumb tracing the line of her delicate jaw.

"Nothing's gonna happen to you, Elizabeth," he whispered, his eyes desperately seeking out every detail of her innocent face. "Not while I'm around. Y-You've been through so much, baby." His mouth twitched as he thought of the way she'd blush if she heard him calling her that. "I'm going to keep you safe, Elizabeth, I promise. You mean more to me than anything else in the world, and I'm _not_ going to let you get hurt again. And that's a promise, angel. This time, _I _get to watch over _you._"

She let out a soft moan, a muffled _mmphth_, and wriggled slightly, gradually coming out of her heavy slumber. He watched silently, still as a sentinel, as her eyes darted around the room, apprehensive at first but slowly recognizing the environment.

His hand was still feathering over her cheek, and Jason's heart fluttered when she raised hers to cover his. Her eyes, wide and startlingly blue, met his and he almost forgot to breathe.

Seas of sapphire revealed her surprise that he was actually physically here, with her, and she braved a tremulous smile as Jason's own eyes softened. Fingers twining with his, she cleared her throat softly, a rustling noise in the otherwise quiet room.

"Hey."


	4. Safe Haven prt 4

**FF 119: Dancing is the vertical expression of a horizontal desire. **

**Safe Haven – prt 4**

"Jason-"

"Elizabeth, I-"

"Oh, good, she lives." Trey's dry voice had Jason wanting to put his fist through a wall, and the enforcer whirled around from Elizabeth's bedside to see the middle-aged doctor stroll calmly into the room, his small briefcase in hand. "You were scaring a lot of people there, kid."

Elizabeth's mouth fell open to form an "o" of surprise and confusion as the dark haired doctor made his way to her side. "Who-"

Jason didn't offer anything in the way of an answer except a low growl, and Trey didn't even look up as he pulled his stethoscope and thermometer out of his leather bag. "Trevor Scotts," he replied amicably, adjusting the stethoscope in his ears. "But I go by Trey. Breathe."

She did as she was told, her eyes blinking as they adjusted to the bright, sunlit room. "What-"

"I'm Sonny's doctor, and I'm stationed on the island to look after you," he interrupted, anticipating her question and moving the stethoscope to a different spot on her chest. "Breathe. You got here a couple hours ago and were unconscious upon arrival. Again – deeper this time. Good. Your fever had spiked on the boat and you were administered a mild sedative to keep you calm. Breathe. Keep breathing til I say stop. You came to a little while ago but then passed out, and I've been waiting for you to wake up. OK, that's good, stop."

He let his stethoscope hang around his neck and reached for the thermometer, sticking it in Elizabeth's mouth and ignoring her surprised _"Gloomp."_ Jason glared at him as he checked his watch and muttered to himself. "Congestion doesn't seem to be a problem anymore – it's cleared up nicely. A little warm, but nothing to be worried about. Effects of the toxin seem to be wearing off, but we'll need to make sure you get plenty of liquids – to flush it out. OK, take it out, lemme see."

Elizabeth sat quietly, watching the doctor carefully as he studied the mercury. "Well?"

Trey looked up, surprised at the sound of her voice. "Just like I said – a little warm but nothing to be worried about. So, kid – how're you feeling?"

"Okay," she replied slowly, shifting in the bed. "And I go by _Elizabeth_, not _kid_."

The doctor did his best to contain a smirk, dipping his head once in acknowledgment. "All right, Elizabeth. You hungry?"

She nodded shyly, nibbling on the corner of her bottom lip. "Kinda. But I, uh…I could kinda use a hot shower."

Trey, ever the mischievous and insubordinate one, dared a cheeky glance at Jason that went completely unnoticed by his young patient. "Sure, can you walk okay, you think?"

Jason watched anxiously as Elizabeth nodded. "I think so."

Trey tossed his bag onto a nearby chaise lounge chair and stood up, careful as always not to jostle her. Elizabeth's sapphire eyes timidly met his green ones as he held out a hand to her. "Come on – test your legs out."

She took his hand, missing the way Jason's eyes narrowed, and slowly scooted to the edge of the bed. Trey helped her push the sheets out of the way and Elizabeth suddenly hoped that she was modestly dressed; if she were to stand up in front of Jason wearing nothing but her tank and panties, she'd just _die_. Thankfully, someone – she didn't want to know who – had changed her into the white tank top she already wore and a pair of baby pink pajama bottoms. Her bare feet hit the warm hardwood, and Trey offered her his other hand.

"Dizzy? Any dizziness? You gotta tell me these things, kid."

"Elizabeth, here-" Jason was at her side in a flash, his hands outstretched in an attempt to help her up.

"I-I'm fine," she assured both of them, trying to be a little more convincing. "Really – I just feel a little weak."

"Yeah, poison tends to do that to a gal," Trey remarked humorlessly. "Come on, up you go."

He pulled her to her feet and Elizabeth wobbled slightly, blushing when Jason's hand immediately found the small of her back. "How's that? Can you stand?"

She tested her weight and found she could indeed. "Oh, yeah, I can stand."

"Try walking." The doctor drew back, amused to find that Jason would not. Elizabeth tested her steps and walked toward the nearby bathroom without any problem, but still, his boss stayed vigilantly at her side. And Trey found it all rather endearing…and quite disturbing. "Good, good. Any headaches? Dizzy yet?"

"No, not at all," she replied, clearly as surprised as he was. "I feel fine. Is it okay if I-"

Trey nodded as she pointed to the bathroom. "Sure, I'll have Paco bring up your bags. In the excitement earlier, we kind of forgot. You go ahead – yell if you need us."

He didn't know whose blushing he found more amusing – Elizabeth or Jason's. Without excusing himself, Trey left the room and exchanged a few words with Paco in the hallway, who immediately went down to get the requested items. Jason waited until he heard water running in the tub before joining the man outside.

"Trey, you son of a bi-"

The doctor's grin was lop-sided. "No need for hysterics, Jason."

"You-"

"-wanted to check up on the patient," he informed him seriously. "I saw her wake up on the monitor and hightailed it up here. Sorry that my medical techniques don't allow for much _quality time_, Morgan, but them's the breaks."

Jason glowered darkly at him, wondering if there was a way to shut him up without scaring Elizabeth. When the enforcer failed to say anything in reply, Trey's grin and audacity grew.

"Is that Elizabeth calling from the shower?" he asked, cupping his ear and leaning toward the door. Jason immediately strained to hear and scowled when he realized his friend was joking. "Hey, Jason – you wanna go see what she needs?"

"Hey, Trey," he mimicked, his eyes narrowing into lethal slits. "Wanna be unemployed? Or six feet under?"

The doctor laughed and withdrew a few steps, casually leaning against the wooden banister as he continued to size his friend up. "Touchy today, Jason. Could it be the company?"

"Trey-"

"Look, Morgan," the doctor cut him off, "you've been in a real pissy mood ever since you got here. I mean, I can understand that – a pal of yours almost got herself killed and you weren't around to save her. The trusted steed was parked in the garage and the White Knight was sleeping – yeah, I get that you feel guilty. But look around, Jason – she's handled it. She's fine."

"Because she's _here_," he bit out, turning hard on his heel away from Trey.

But the doctor would not be dissuaded. "You think I'm some miracle worker over here, Jason? What, that I've got my magical elixirs and book of secrets? I'm just a normal doctor, man. I'm doing everything that any other doctor would do – if she was somewhere else with some other medical expert, she'd be fine, too. Just think of that – she's fine. She's just fine. And stop freaking out."

"It's not like-"

"It's not like what?" Trey challenged as Jason dreamed up newer and more inventive ways to make him disappear. "You can't stop, can you? I've seen you when you're around that girl, Morgan. Hell, I've seen you when you're thinking about her – what do you think I'm talking about? You're a man possessed, Jason; you can't leave her side, you can't consider the possibility of her being alone or hurt or scared, all of which are admirable qualities, I might add. I've seen it, Jason – you want to take care of her."

A long silence stretched out between the two men until Jason broke it. "She took care of me once."

"I understand that," Trey answered honestly. "But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about gratitude here, I'm not talking about you feeling like you owe her something for watching out for you in Port Charles when you got hurt."

"Then what the fuck _are _you talking about?" Jason demanded, pumping his fist in the air with frustration. "Do you even know?"

The corner of Trey's mouth twitched, a peculiar habit he reflected he must have picked up from his old friend standing before him. "Don't ask me to believe she's just your friend, Jason. Don't ask any of us to believe that."

"She's-"

"Way more to you than you want to let on," Trey finished. "You wouldn't have dropped business in Puerto Rico and hopped on the plane to come here if she was just a friend. You wouldn't have gone apeshit downstairs and ruined some damn fine chairs, by the way, if she was just a friend. You wouldn't be so angry with me for interrupting just now if she was just a friend."

Jason closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. The sound of Elizabeth's shower running was the loudest sound in the hallway. Presently, he opened his eyes to find Trey watching him with respectful reservation.

"What do you want from me, Trey?"

The doctor smiled sympathetically at his old friend. Jason Morgan was a bright man – one of the most quick-witted ones he had come across himself – and there hadn't been a situation so far that the younger man hadn't been able to handle. But this – he was a fool if he thought he had a prayer. "I've seen you go through a lot in my day, Jason. I've seen you when you were with Carly, I was around when you lost Michael. I saw you when Robin left. And you know what I realized?"

"That you're way too intrusive?" Jason guessed wryly.

Trey's emerald eyes glittered. "You have a habit of keeping things bottled up inside, Jason. And then you explode, taking out everyone and everything within a ten-mile radius. You can't keep doing that."

Jason said nothing.

"I'm not going to butt into this any more," Trey continued quietly. "What goes on with you and the ki – with Elizabeth is no one's business but yours and hers. But I will tell you one thing, Jason: don't keep everything bottled up inside. She can't read your mind any more than you can read hers. But moreover, there are certain things that she needs to know here, certain things she needs to tell you, I assume, as well. Don't hurt the both of you by keeping yourself locked up. _Talk_ to her, Morgan." He stopped, smirking, and stretched his arms out around them. "You're stuck on a fucking island with her, Morgan. I suggest you make the best of it."

With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Trey pushed away from the banister and began to head for the stairway, satisfied with his little speech. Jason watched him go, his piercing blue eyes hard. "You never know when to shut up, Trey."

"They didn't teach us how to in medical school," came the flippant reply.

"And you don't know when to stop poking around, either," Jason called out, his lips curling into a smirk. "Lesser things have put other men in dangerous places."

"You mean in a grave?" Trey didn't even look over his shoulder as he walked regally down the stairs. "You won't do anything to _me_, Morgan."

"How can you be sure?"

Jason's amused voice brought a grin to the older man's face, and he turned around for the first time, one eyebrow quirked slightly. "I've saved your life on more than one occasion, my friend. You'll _always_ take what I dish out."

"Um…Jason? Trey? Anyone?" Elizabeth peered out of the bathroom, her sapphire eyes searching the part of the room in her sphere of vision. She was unprepared to react when Jason launched himself out of his wooden chair in the corner and right in front of her. "Oh! Jason, I-"

"Do you need something? Is something wrong? Are you dizzy?"

"No, no," she hurried to assure him, dropping her gaze with embarrassment. _Great_. "I, um, don't have any…clothes."

Jason snapped his mouth shut, staring blankly at her. Sure enough, she was standing almost entirely behind the door, her face pink with embarrassment. A fluffy white towel was wrapped around her petite body, her skin flushed from the hot shower. And for a split second, Jason Morgan had no idea what to do…

"Jason? My bag?" She was pointing to a black bag on the bed and Jason cursed himself quietly.

"Yeah. Here." He stalked over and snatched it up, holding it out to her. She had to open the door wider to accept it, and Jason had the presence of mind this time to look away as she did so. In a flash, the bag was gone and the door was closed in his face.

Jason looked up to see Paco and Trey engaged in quiet conversation outside the door, and both men grinned at him when he scowled. Trey had the good sense to make himself scarce, but his cockiness from before must have been contagious because Paco flashed him a quick thumbs-up before disappearing from view.

Cursing, Jason stormed out of the room and thundered down the stairs, reminding himself to have Max renew the hiring process – he would soon be finding himself short a few nosey bodyguards.

"Hey, there, kid!" Trey was grinning when Elizabeth stepped coyly into the kitchen. "How d'ya feel?"

"Good," she replied honestly, sniffing the fragrant smells wafting toward her. "Much better." Her curious eyes found Jason who was seated at the table with the newspaper. His feet were bare and since it was a hot day, his thin white t-shirt was clinging to his defined upper body. He had stood up as soon as she had entered the room and his intense blue eyes were currently trained on her, ready to spring to action if she needed him to.

She offered him a small smile, warm and genuine, and Jason sucked in a breath as she walked closer. Her hair was still damp from her shower and hung in loose waves around her face. Porcelain skin still slightly flushed and dewy from the water and steam, she obviously hadn't bothered to put on any makeup before coming downstairs. Her feet were bare, just like his, and she was wearing simple white linen capris and a soft blue tank top that brought out her midnight blue eyes. She looked…every bit as beautiful as she always did to him.

"The island is lovely," she felt like informing them softly. "I've never seen any place so beautiful."

"Oh, this little thing?" Paco remarked, swiveling his wrist to indicate their surroundings. "Nothing much – just something we keep lying around." His black eyes twinkled when she smirked, and he motioned her over. "I imagine you are hungry, _señorita_."

"I am," she nodded, tensing a little when she felt Jason make his way to her side. He remained standing slightly behind her, to her right, and she did her best not to shiver when he got close.

"The lovely Betty just fixed you some chicken soup," Trey informed her grandly, already pulling a bowl from the cabinet. "I'd introduce you to her, but the darn woman's gone and run off somewhere."

Elizabeth laughed and gripped the counter, readying herself to jump up on the sleek black stool. Shockwaves ripped through her when Jason's broad hands spanned her waist and easily lifted her up. Her blush was fierce, and both Trey and Paco made sure she didn't see them smirking.

Trey served her the soup – chicken noodle, of course – along with some instructions: she was to drink plenty of water and liquids and take it easy; she was to inform him of any strange symptoms immediately; she was supposed to stay away from caffeine and she was supposed to rest regularly – no ifs, ands or buts. Elizabeth agreed immediately, not wanting to test the doctor. Jason remained quiet throughout the whole exchange, but Paco made up for it. Elizabeth took an immediate liking to the young Spanish guard with the thick accent and enchanting eyes – she liked how he called her _señorita_, too.

"Here you are," Trey announced, placing a bowl of soup in front of her with a flourish. "I expect you to finish it, too. Now, if you'll excuse me." Without offering any more in the way of an excuse, he calmly strolled out of the room and into the adjacent library. Paco put away the iced tea and a straightened up the clutter before excusing himself as well, and Jason and Elizabeth were left alone in the kitchen.

"Man, I am _starving_," Elizabeth declared, slightly unnerved by how he was studying her silently with those piercing blue eyes and dealing with it the only way she knew how – by rambling. "The last thing I think I had to eat was a banana. It was mushy, too. I hate mushy bananas – did you ever notice how the mushier they are, the sweeter they become? I mean, don't get me wrong, I like sweet stuff, but the mushiness I can do without. The good thing though is that at least you can eat them on the run, you know? I haven't really had much time to sit and eat real food for the past week or whatever, so I've adopted the King Kong diet – lots of bananas. This soup looks good. Man, I am _starving_."

Jason watched her babble, words flying out of her mouth a mile a minute, and was struck by the comforting familiarity of the scene. Just sitting here, with her, with soup, listening to her say random things…this felt right.

"Yeah, you should really eat."

"Mm-hmm," she nodded, bringing her spoon to her mouth. "I haven't had this for the longest – Ow! _Mmph_! _Mmmpth_!"

Her spoon clattered to the counter as Elizabeth clamped a hand to her mouth, banging the soles of her feet against the rungs of the black stool and simultaneously scaring the living daylights out of Jason.

"What? What is it? Elizabeth!"

She was grimacing, her free hand fisted, and Jason had to drag her other hand away from her lips. "Mmphth."

"Elizabeth? What happened?"

The brunette beauty in his arms was blushing again, unable to meet his gaze. "I, um, burned my tongue."

He stared at her for a split-second, and that was all it took for Elizabeth to burst into giggles. "Sorry."

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose, chuckling himself, and shook his head at her. She was still making faces, assessing the damage done to her tongue, and on impulse he reached for her soup. "Here."

She looked up to see him blowing on the soup before extending the spoon to her. Spellbound, she opened her mouth and accepted it, finding it decidedly cooler. His eyes bore into hers, and Elizabeth had to consciously remind herself to breathe when he puckered up once more to cool the spoonful of chicken soup.

Not too far away, tucked just out of view, Paco and Trey were watching the scene with a mixture of amusement and disbelief. The sight of their old friend feeding Elizabeth was almost too much, as evidenced by Paco's shaking shoulders.

"I cannot believe what you said to him," the Spanish guard got out after he managed to compose himself. "Furthermore, I cannot believe you are still here, standing."

Trey's laughter was low and raspy. "Jason can't touch me – he knows it. John'll never believe this, though."

"I was a bit curious when Jason mentioned chicken soup earlier," Paco admitted, shifting his weight to the other foot. "But looking at them now, I think it must mean something for the two of them."

"Those two crazy kids? You can bet on it." Trey sniffed quietly, his lips curling into a delighted smirk when Elizabeth complained she was full and made Jason finish off the last few spoonfuls. He told Jason that he was wise to his game – the enforcer wanted to take care of the petite brunette. And he hoped that this time, the young woman was free to take care of Jason as well.


	5. Safe Haven prt 5

**Safe Haven – prt 5**

"And then you fold the whites in – don't beat," Betty instructed, letting Elizabeth observe the technique over her shoulder. "Hand me the buttermilk, will you, dearie?"

"Sure," Elizabeth nodded, scampering over to the fridge to retrieve what the cook had asked for. She had spent the last two hours at Betty's side in the kitchen, and she already had a couple new recipes under her belt that she wanted to try out later. And she knew for a fact that Nikolas would _love_ the pastries they were making now. "Here we go."

"Wonderful!" Betty beamed, looking remarkably happy considering the fact that she had just been given a pint of milk. She was a short, stout woman with long brown hair that she kept rolled up in a tight bun, and Elizabeth was enjoying her company immensely. When it came to frittatas and soufflés, there wasn't a thing that the woman didn't know, and considering that Elizabeth only knew how to make popcorn and brownies, her guidance was more than welcome. "The wonderful thing about buttermilk is that it's really creamy and has very, very little fat. This is going to be excellent."

She went back to stirring, humming to herself along with the songs Elizabeth had playing on the mini boom-box plugged into the corner by the dishwasher, leaving the petite brunette to watch from a distance. And inevitably, Elizabeth's thoughts began to wander.

She had arrived at the island yesterday around noon, and it was already afternoon, almost evening. And still, she and Jason had been tiptoeing around each other. She'd be lying if she said that something inside her didn't hurt when he stood awkwardly every time she entered the room, the way his eyes never seemed to quite meet hers dead-on, the careful way he handled her, like a broken bird. Something inside her was hurting because this _wasn't_ the way she and Jason had ever been before; they never had to act around each other before. And that was exactly what they were doing.

The reasons were obvious, and that was what made it hurt all the more. No matter how much they tried to gloss over the past, how hard they tried to pretend it didn't exist, it wouldn't work. The past still lurked between them; she could see it in the shadowy depths of his painfully blue eyes, and she had a feeling he could see it in her skittish gestures and jerky movements, in the deep crimson bloom of her blush. All the emotions she had tried to escape in Port Charles so many months ago – the longing, the desperation, the pain, the guilt, the frustration, the feeling that if she didn't pull his lips down to hers and finally taste him, she'd just burst – those feelings had followed her to the island.

And with Jason's arrival had come other emotions, as she knew they would. The guilt increased tenfold; guilt at having shut him down without a second thought, guilt at rubbing her love for Lucky in his face every time he got too close. And he was so concerned about her – sitting beside her until she woke up, always walking close by in case she got dizzy or felt weak, blowing on her soup, which she still couldn't believe really happened – and that just made it all worse. She didn't deserve his kindness after the way she treated him, but he gave it regardless. That was just the kind of man Jason Morgan was.

Sooner or later, they'd have to talk about what happened between them. They'd have to fix it. But it would probably have to be later rather than sooner, seeing as how whenever Jason got within a five-foot radius of her, every single coherent thought flew from Elizabeth's head.

It was a rather strange phenomena; she had seen Jason half-naked almost every day when he had stayed at her studio the first time. She had seen how muscular his chest and arms were, how well-defined and utterly drool-worthy. But it hadn't affected her then; her primary concern was getting him better. When Jason had come back again, she had been with Lucky. She had done her best _not_ to notice his perfect muscles, the way his jeans always fit him perfectly, the way his t-shirts stretched across his chest, the way his eyes sparkled and his lips curled, how soft his mouth looked…it had been a challenge, but she had succeeded.

And now they were stranded on an island together. Alone. Well, alone with their feelings.

Yesterday had been one of the most nerve-wracking days of her life, she remembered with a sigh. Even Betty humming along to ABBA's "Dancing Queen" didn't pull Elizabeth from her sullen musing. There had been that moment when she was standing in nothing but a towel and had to ask him for her clothes, which was absolutely mortifying. She thought there had been some spark of their old connection when he was feeding her the day before, but that had ended with the soup and Jason had seemed to withdraw even more.

And then there was the time that she needed the razors that one of the guards foolishly left on the absolute top shelf of the cabinet, leaving her with no choice but to climb on top of the counter in an attempt to retrieve the package. Jason had shown up again, as silent as a sentinel, and had neatly lifted her off the smooth surface and retrieved the razors himself. Inwardly, she hoped that his awkward muttering and lack of an excuse when he left her in the bathroom was some sign that he had been as affected by the encounter as she had been.

But that had been nothing compared to this morning. She had gotten up early after going to bed very early the night before and had padded into the kitchen to grab some food, noticing that Trey and Paco were gone, probably at the guard house, leaving the large house almost empty. How the hell was she supposed to know that Jason liked to stand on the verandah in his silk pajama bottoms and drink coffee in the morning? At least he didn't sleep in the nude.

Betty smirked at the deep blush that suddenly bloomed on her young companion's cheeks, having her own suspicions as to what was getting the petite brunette so excited. _"Oh, girls, they wanna have fun. That's all they really wa-ant, the fun-"_

"Good God, Betty!" Trey's irritated growl snapped Elizabeth out of her suddenly X-rated thoughts. "Must you torture the cat?"

The cook glared at him, deciding that spitting in his chili that night would serve the doctor right for insulting her voice. "Out of the kitchen, Trey – you know you're supposed to be watching your cholesterol."

"_I'm_ the doctor," he reminded her gruffly, pouting at the pastries she was sliding into the oven. "I'll decide when I'm supposed to be watching my cholesterol." Elizabeth giggled, grabbing his attention. "And the doctor also says that the kid needs to watch what she eats, too."

The brunette rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Taking me down with you, huh, Doc?"

"That's what they taught us in medical school," came the answer. "Have you seen the paper, Bets?"

The cook huffed, dusting her hands off on her apron. "Mr. Morgan left it in the library this morning."

"Excellent," Trey announced, stuffing his hands into his pockets and preparing to exit the room without excusing himself, as was his way. "There's a little matter of Social Security that has piqued my interest these days. Save a pastry for me, doll."

"Don't bet on it," Betty huffed as the doctor strolled out. "Elizabeth, dearie, I have some other things to see to this morning. Will you be a sweetheart and check on the oven in about twenty-five minutes?"

"Sure," Elizabeth nodded, smiling when Paco entered the kitchen. He grinned at both her and Betty as the older woman quickly strode from the room. "Hey, Paco. Didn't see you this morning."

"I was at the guard residence, _señorita._ A few things needed my attention. And how are you this afternoon?"

"Very good," she replied happily, pulling herself up onto a stool with little difficulty. Her strength was quickly returning, but she suspected that still wouldn't stop Jason , Paco or Trey from treating her like a little china doll. Although she had to admit that there were times when she didn't altogether mind. "Betty showed me how to make biscotti."

The Spaniard laughed. "Ah, yes, she loves to have a pupil around to instruct – she'll be teaching you much more, I suspect, before you leave the island." There was a brief pause and then he spoke again. "_Señorita, _pardon my asking, but when do you think that will be? That is, when are you planning to leave?"

"Trying to get rid of me, Paco?" she teased, trying to avoid the question. "Am I really that much trouble?"

He grinned at her, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Paco, she had learned, was quite the caffeine addict. "Not at all, _señorita;_ I'm just wondering how much longer I have to enjoy your magnificent company."

Her smile was wide and bright. "Ooh, see, now, flattery will get you everywhere." He only smirked, awaiting an answer. "And to be honest, I'm not sure when I'm leaving. Things are dangerous back home and I won't even be thinking of leaving the island until they've calmed down. I have friends in Port Charles who know I've faked my death, and they'll call me when everything is safe." _If they're still alive by then_, a voice in the back of her head reminded her. "Until then, we're free to hang out."

"That is comforting news," Paco offered, sipping the strong black liquid in his favorite mug. "I rather enjoy this…_hanging out_ that we do. But tell me – so far, how do you like your stay? Is there anything else you are needing? Anything we can do?"

"Oh, no, everything's perfect," Elizabeth assured him warmly. "You're all so wonderful and so kind, and I really like staying here. I mean, where else would I get chocolate chip waffles for breakfast every morning?"

The guard chuckled, setting his mug on the island where she sat and taking a seat on the stool next to hers. "Yes, well, she's happy to have the chance to make them now that you are here – Betty can never get us other guards to eat them. She's thrilled with all the praise you heap upon her, _señorita."_

"She's great," Elizabeth replied honestly. "And so are you – you've been so wonderful ever since I came here." She cocked her head to the side, studying Paco as he blushed. "You know Francis Corelli, right?"

"Francisco?" Paco asked in his thick accent. "Oh, yes, of course."

"You remind me a lot of him – he used to guard me once, back in Port Charles. You and him are very alike: you're both very kind and you always know the right things to say to make me comfortable. Having you here is just like having him here."

The guard cocked a brow at her, sipping from his mug again. "I should take that as a compliment, no? I have heard of your attachment to Francisco; it's common knowledge how highly you speak of him."

Elizabeth smiled back widely. "Oh, yeah, I just adore Francis. Johnny, too – oh, and Max. How can I forget Max? Those three are a riot when they're together. Speaking of which, Trey reminds me a little of Johnny, only he says what he's thinking out loud. Johnny kinda mutters under his breath so Sonny and Jason never hear him. But not Trey."

"Oh, no," Paco laughed, "Trevor isn't like that at all; if he has something to say, he's going to make damn sure that everyone else knows about it."

"I've seen the way he talks to Jason," Elizabeth quipped, nibbling on her lip. "No one else talks to him that way, at least, to the best of my knowledge."

The guard was reaching for one of the biscotti that Betty had prepared earlier in the morning. "Trey and Jason have a…strange relationship, _señorita. _Trey used to be Sonny's doctor in Port Charles many, many years ago, and so he has known Jason since he started working for the organization. Then, he got shot in the chest – missed his lung by a quarter of an inch – and Sonny decided he'd be safer on the island; now, Trey divides his time between here and Puerto Rico. He has saved Jason's life on multiple occasions and knows Jason better than any of the other guards. And Jason always listens when Trey has something to say, even if he doesn't like it. Sometimes, of course, our Trevor uses that to his advantage."

Elizabeth giggled. "Yeah, I kinda guessed that. Still, he's a nice guy, even if he does like to call me Kid."

"You _are_ a kid to him," Paco teased. "Even though there isn't too great a difference in age between the two of them, Trey still considers _Jason_ a kid."

He looked up to see Elizabeth wrinkling her nose. "Jason? That just doesn't sound right."

Paco laughed. "I know it might not, _señorita, _but it has a lot to do with the way those two relate to each other. Jason has always relied on Trey for his medical expertise, and Trey always took the best care of Jason when he was hurt. –That is, aside from you, as I hear." Elizabeth blushed when the guard winked at her. "Jason was in Columbia a few months ago and a meeting went bad and he ended up with a gash in his side and one hell of an infection. Trey dropped everything and took the plane down there immediately, knowing he could wind up on the hospital bed next to him if he angered the wrong people. Similarly, when he heard that a friend of Jason's needed his help, he dropped everything in Puerto Rico and came to the island as soon as possible."

Elizabeth's eyes softened at that. Suddenly, the fact that he insisted on calling her "kid" despite her wishes to the contrary didn't seem like such a big deal. "That's…I don't know how I'm supposed to thank him for that."

"Thank him by getting better quickly," Paco suggested with a smile. "You are very important to Jason and Trey, _señorita_. They are both willing to do whatever it takes to make sure you are able to put this whole nasty business behind you."

"Yeah, well, I'm gettin' there," Elizabeth drawled, sliding out of her stool to turn off the oven as Betty had instructed. She felt Paco's eyes on her as she retrieved a glass of water for herself, mindful of Trey's directions to drink plenty of fluids. Everyone on the island had been so wonderful to her. And Jason…especially Jason.

More than anything, she wanted to make things right by him. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry that she was too foolish and too self-centered to handle things earlier in Port Charles, that she was sorry she hurt him in the process. But at least now they had a chance of having a fresh start. His absence had only made her feelings for him stronger; she was praying that her absence didn't have the opposite effect on his.

He was such an incredible man. And she hated to think that, because of something she did, something she said, he didn't believe that any more. Truth be told, Jason Morgan was the most amazing man she had ever met – physical appearances set entirely aside, she had never met anyone as genuine, compassionate, helpful, or caring as him.

And if he was indeed so incredible, then why the hell was she having such a hard time getting close enough to him to tell him what was going on?

Damn.

"I hate everything," she muttered to herself, not knowing that Paco heard her. The boom-box was still on, playing one of Elizabeth's favorite mixed CDs, and the brunette glared pensively at it, not hearing a set of footsteps advance into the kitchen. "Hey, Paco-"

She turned around, about to ask him for some personal insight into Jason – because, surprisingly enough, she actually needed it – when she saw Jason standing right next to him. Jason watched her, surprised when she almost spit out the water she was drinking.

_Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?  
__Just like me, they long to be close to you.  
__Why do stars fall down from the sky every time you walk by?  
__Just like me, they long to be close to you._

Recovering quickly, Elizabeth glared at the source of the music. That was it – the boom box was going to have to die.

"You okay?"

She nodded awkwardly at his gruff question. "Yeah, just fine."

He strode closer, taking the almost empty glass of water from her and setting it blindly on the counter, all the while peering into her dark eyes. It gave her an opportunity to look back at him, entranced by the way his cerulean orbs sparkled and the golden halo the sunlight cast about his wild spikes. "You sure? I can call Tr-"

"I'm fine, Jason," she assured him, patting his arm in a gesture of familiarity before realizing just how _unfamiliar_ the gesture was.

_On the day that you were born the angels got together  
__And decided to create a dream come true_  
_So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair  
__And golden starlight in your eyes a-blue_

Muttering darkly to herself as soon as Jason withdrew to pour himself some coffee, Elizabeth strode over to the CD player and jabbed the _Next_ button – hard. _"Stupid, pushy boom-box, reminding me of stuff I already know…of all the damn songs…what the hell…Pushy music…I'm doing the best I can here, damn it…"_

"Did you say something, Elizabeth?" Jason's curious voice broke her from her dark reverie and Elizabeth looked up to find him staring at her.

"No, n-nothing," she replied, scowling at Paco when the guard dared to smirk. "I should get the things out of the oven."

The guard shook his head at his two friends. They would both rather occupy themselves with meaningless tasks than face each other – they really were perfect for each other.

* * *

"Dinner was fabulous, Betty!" Elizabeth crowed, stacking Trey's plate on top of hers and making her way for the sink. "Wonderful!"

"Magnificent!" Trey echoed grandly, winking at Betty who was doing her best not to show how pleased she was. "Superb!"

"Muy sabrosa," Paco added, sweeping up the glasses from the table. "But we still haven't decided – who's doing the dishes?"

"I will," Elizabeth volunteered, shooing Betty away from the sink despite the older woman's protests.

"I don't know how I feel about you doing the work here," Trey frowned, crossing his arms across his solid chest. He looked up when Jason stood, smacking his friend on the arm. "Well, Morgan, don't just stand there – help the kid."

Jason scowled at him but Trey was already on the other side of the kitchen, pestering Betty for dessert despite her pleas for him to consider the sugar and cholesterol and all sorts of other things that would rot his body from the inside out. He shuffled awkwardly to the sink where Elizabeth was already sudsing up the plates – there were just four of them, and she figured it would be better to do them by hand than stick them in the empty dishwasher to congeal. "Here, let me-"

"It's okay, Jason," she smiled up at him, brushing his hands away and accidentally getting a few small globs of soap on his fingers. "I'm good."

"Let's see what else you've got on this CD, _señorita,_" Paco suggested, pouring himself some more wine and fiddling with the boom box. "Betty, do we have any more biscotti?"

"You finished them this evening, Don Juan," Betty jokingly groused.

"Ah, yes," Paco nodded dejectedly.

"Cheer up, Paco – we've got éclairs!" Trey announced, pulling a tray out of the fridge and holding it aloft over Betty's head. "Bets has been holding out on us."

Elizabeth laughed, finishing the plates and moving on to the glasses as Betty frowned at her friend. "I was saving them for after dinner," she replied witheringly. "Beth told me how she loves them and I was trying to keep them away from you, Willy Wonka."

"I'm tempted to ignore that cruel barb for one of these," Trey muttered, plucking a pastry from the tray. "Want one, Jason?"

"No."

"Your loss." He offered one to Paco, who immediately took it and looked for Elizabeth, who was almost done with the dishes.

"You know what would be great with that?" she asked, quickly rinsing the silverware. "Hot cocoa."

"Hot cocoa?" Trey echoed, wrinkling his nose. "It's summer, and you want hot cocoa."

"Sure," Elizabeth shrugged. "What does one thing have to do with the other?"

Jason grinned to himself. That sounded like something he would have said. "Cocoa, Elizabeth?"

"Definitely," she smiled up at him, finishing the dishes and wiping her hands on her pants. "There's nothing like curling up under the stars with a warm mug of cocoa. You should really try it sometime, Jason."

* * *

Sap.

Jason Morgan was a sap.

Sitting comfortably sprawled back on the white wooden swing on the back porch overlooking the white sand and sapphire ocean, he just couldn't get over how big a sap he'd always become when it came to Elizabeth. He quirked a brow at the mug of hot chocolate in his hands, and shook his head slowly. The marshmallows she had heaped on top – one was never enough, she had insisted – and he could smell the cinnamon despite the distance.

Sap.

"Hey, there!" She was beaming as she stepped out into the balmy night, letting her gaze stray appreciatively to the vast expanse of the cerulean ocean.

"Hey, yourself."

"I finally found sprinkles," she announced, shaking a tiny canister of the coated rice topping as she joined him on the swing, which rocked slightly from her weight. Jason handed Elizabeth her own cup of cocoa, watching her discreetly as she lifted it up and inhaled deeply before shaking on the brown sprinkles. Her eyes, wide and as expressive as ever, turned to the sea once more as her lips curved into a small smile. "It's so beautiful here."

Jason dipped his head, sharing in the view. "It's nice."

She braced one slender, bare foot on the wood and rocked slowly, evenly, with a constant rhythm. Before long, Jason took it up and Elizabeth lifted her legs up underneath her, curling into a ball and using her change in position to discreetly scoot closer to him. He noticed but didn't let on, shifting slightly to achieve the same goal.

"Is that a boat house? Over there?"

He followed her finger and nodded. "Yeah. We've got a couple motorboats tied up behind there, and some waterskis and floatation devices in the boathouse itself. I can show you sometime, if you want."

"That'd be great," she grinned back, sipping her cocoa. Behind them, Paco, Betty and Trey along with some other guards were still fooling around in the kitchen. Betty was reorganizing her spice cabinet and the men were drinking and conversing. Elizabeth cringed when she heard Paco laugh and slip her mixed CD into the boom box once more. "So, how's your cocoa?"

Jason glanced down at the steaming beverage, the corner of his mouth twitching downward. "I haven't, um, tried it yet."

"Jason! Come on – take a sip. It's good. Would I lie to you, Morgan? I don't see what the point would be – you'd know right away."

That made him chuckle, and Jason cracked her that boyish smile she loved so much when he looked up at her. "But Elizabeth…it has marshmallows in it."

The brunette rolled her sparkling eyes, laughing at him. "Oh, Jason, just _try _it. I promise you'll like it."

He grimaced at the floating white fluff as he lifted it to his lips and drank.

Sap.

"So how is it?" Elizabeth persisted, grinning cheekily at him. When Jason removed the cup from his lips and looked at her, the brunette just couldn't help it – she burst into peals of unrestrained laughter. "Oh, Jason!"

"What?" he asked, genuinely confused. "What's so funny?"

Her lilting laughter merged with the notes of Neil Diamond's guitar, her bright eyes dancing with laughter. "You have a marshmallow mustache!"

Jason swore and removed a handkerchief from the pocket of his jeans, swiping the white foam angrily away. But Elizabeth continued to laugh, and gradually, he found himself doing the same.

"_Where it began,  
__I can't begin to knowin'  
__But then I know it's growin' strong.  
__Was in the spring  
__Then spring became the summer  
__Who'da believed you'd come along?"_

"Oh, Jason." She was smiling at him now, having successfully drowned out the sound of Trey singing in the kitchen. He stared back at her openly, curiously, taking in the way her mouth curved with amusement, the way her eyes shone bright in the dark of the summer night, the way her cheeks were flushed from laughing. Everything about her was so natural, so innocent, so foreign to everything he had grown accustomed to. She was his breath of fresh air – she always had been. Innocence, beauty, honesty, compassion like hers was hard to come by, some would say impossible all around. And yet here she was, gracing him with all of that. Sitting with him. Enjoying the stars. Sharing her hot chocolate. Being his Elizabeth.

Something shifted between them; he couldn't tell if the mood became heavier or lighter, but he was definitely aware of the change. The amusement had fled from her soft mouth, her even softer eyes, replaced instead with open and honest sincerity. Warmth flooded through his whole body when her small hand reached out with such alarming hesitance to hold his own, gently squeezing it where it lay on the bench. Jason looked up into her eyes, shining with the same heart-stopping sincerity, almost afraid of what would happen next.

"I'm so glad you're here, Jason."

"_Hand touching hand,  
__Reaching out,  
__Touching me,  
__Touching you._

_Sweet Caroline,  
__Good times never seem so good;  
__I've been inclined  
__To believe they never could…"_

He nodded once, trying to remind himself of everything that had transpired between them. He would have to tread with care – she was here, after all, because she had given her life for Lucky Spencer and would surely be returning to him. Still, Jason couldn't stop the next words that came out of his mouth.

"I'll always be with you, Elizabeth, when you need me to be."

She looked back at him with those impossibly innocent eyes, one eyebrow lifting in an almost seductive gesture. "And when I want you to be?"

The question stole the breath from his lungs and for a moment, Jason just stared back at her until his heart took over and said what his head wouldn't allow him to. "I'll be with you _whenever_ you want me to."

"_Now I look at the night_  
_And it don't seem so lonely;  
__We fill it up with only two."_

She gave him that Mona Lisa smile he had come to love so much, the one that sent his heart racing and made him want to beat his head against a wall at the same time. Lively music still poured from the open kitchen windows, sounds of Trey and Paco arguing and Seth and George laughing, but for Jason and Elizabeth all was silent, all was still, all revolved around that old white porch swing.

He had to break the silence.

Gruffly clearing his throat, Jason glanced away, breaking their intense staring contest. "Um, Elizabeth…did it – Did it hurt when they p-poisoned you?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. "No, Jason, it didn't. It felt like I couldn't breathe for a moment, and then I got lightheaded and fainted, and that was when the poison really kicked in. That's what Nikolas said." Her gaze fell to his lap, where Jason's hands tightened forcibly around the black mug he held. "But, no – no, it didn't hurt."

Something inside her twinged painfully as she watched him stare out at the ocean, a myriad of emotions swirling around in his tense body. More than anything, she wanted him to know that she was just fine – and he was a good part of that. The poison didn't hurt her, and she was certain that waking up to find him with her had only helped her recovery, sped it along. Just because he wasn't there to physically protect her didn't mean that he hadn't done anything for her; his mere presence was a form of protection, a salve that soothed all that was broken in her heart, body and mind. He needed to know that.

"Jason-"

"How did you…How did you work up the strength to do it?" He knew it wasn't the right question; he didn't mean to ask that. "How…How _could_ you do it, Elizabeth?"

The mood inside the house had changed already; Trey and Paco weren't arguing anymore, Seth and George weren't laughing. All Elizabeth heard was the quiet, rustling sound of their lowered voiced and the crinkling of the newspaper they read. The boombox had also been turned down, but still droned softly on, its notes smooth and lilting and carried away by the lazy summer breeze. Vaguely, as Elizabeth tried to form her thoughts into a coherent reply, she found herself recognizing Mama Cass' _Dream a Little Dream of Me. _

"It was the only way to save Nikolas," she whispered softly, "and the Spencers. Especially the Spencers." Jason didn't reply, just stared back at her with those intense cerulean orbs of his. "They're family to me, and they've always done so much for me. This was my chance to save them – all of them – and I did it without a second thought because I know they'd do the same for me."

"You love them," he whispered, meaning one member of the Spencer/Cassidine family in particular. "You'd die for them."

Her smile was small and crooked, pleased that he understood. "Yeah, I would. And I'd die for them again. They mean so much to me."

"I-I know." Jason's voice was shaky and he glanced down at the almost empty mug of cocoa he held. "Elizabeth, I need you to know something. When I got to the island, I didn't know any of what had happened. Sonny just called me and told me to get to the island because he had sent you there. I found out about the poisoning from Trey, and then I…I got upstairs to your room and…I don't know if you remember this or not, but I talked to you for a while and I was pretty…angry."

"You were angry with me?"

"For putting your own life in danger," he explained. "For willingly letting Nikolas and Helena poison you when one drop too much could have…" Jason didn't bother to finish the sentence. "I understand why you did it. And if I was in your place…I'd have done it, too."

Elizabeth's small, warm smile was short-lived.

"I would have done the same thing for the person I loved." Jason's fingers tightened around his black mug. "I need you to know that…that I'm not angry. I don't have a right to be. You l-love Lucky and you'd do anything to keep him safe."

Her eyes widened, and her lips fell open on an "o" of surprise. He couldn't think…Oh, of course he would. She'd given him no reason to think otherwise.

"You'd die for him, Elizabeth – I know that. And this'll…this'll all be over soon and you can go home."

Her hand shot out in a vain attempt to comfort him, to comfort herself. "Oh, Jason-"

Shoulders tense, Jason moved to stand as soon as her cool hand gingerly touched his. A cool breeze whistled by, fanning through Elizabeth's silky hair, caressing her lips that were still parted on a silent gasp.

"It's late; we should get inside."

Elizabeth snapped her mouth shut, blinking furiously. She had been dismissed. Jason's breath whispered on her forehead when he leaned in to press a kiss to her hairline before standing completely, but the familiar and tender gesture wasn't enough to pull Elizabeth free of the barrage of emotions that had suddenly arrested her heart and mind.

"Goodnight, Elizabeth."


	6. Safe Haven prt 6

**Note** - _The word/phrase "stu-fu" is used by me to verbally/transliterally denote the acronym STFU, which stands for "Shut the F Up."_

**Part 6**

She didn't go back to her room that night. Instead, Elizabeth remained sitting on the white porch swing, staring out at the ocean twinkling under the starlight and wondered just where the hell she had gone wrong.

Lucky's name hadn't entered conversation in any other context except the most obvious one – that it was his family she was trying to save. She hadn't made any mention of still loving him and looking forward to her reunion with him – had she? No, she hadn't! There was only one explanation – Jason Morgan was making things up in his head.

Jason Morgan just didn't _do_ that.

The night was warm, the balmy ocean air wrapping around her like a blanket, and Elizabeth continued to stare contemplatively out at the sea. There was so much wrong between them. She had tried wishing it away, sweeping it under a rug and pretending that it just didn't exist. That obviously hadn't worked.

But the biggest problem, she knew, was how to make it all better. For both of them.

Jason came downstairs in the early hours of the morning when Paco and Trey finally left for their rooms at the guards' residence, and prowled the lower floor anxiously in search of his other houseguest. Elizabeth wasn't in her room, and those familiar feelings of panic, dread, fear, and desperation had set in almost immediately. They were the ones that had accompanied him when he flew up three flights of stairs to her studio upon learning Sorel had placed a bomb there, and they were the ones that rushed to greet him now.

Relief slammed through him when he saw her petite form asleep on the swing they had shared earlier. The moonlight fell over her delicate body like the lightest of blankets, painting her porcelain skin an even paler color and making it glow in the dim surroundings. Her head lay on her arm, her fingers falling over the edge of the swing and allowing the wind to tangle itself betwixt.

He didn't know how long he stood there, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his bare chest, staring at her. She was so perfect. She was perfect for him in every way. Looking achingly beautiful in the depths of nighttime slumber, she remained painfully unaware of everything he had once felt for her, everything he _still_ felt for her.

It took a long moment for Jason to will himself to move, to approach her. His hand hovered over her, still uncertain, and the enforcer was most unwilling to disturb her. She looked so peaceful, looking every bit the fallen angel as she slept. His brows furrowed when he noticed that her lips were twisted in a slight frown, lines of tension visible on her forehead. Her hand was curled into a fist next to her chest, her knees pulled up halfway into her body in an almost defensive position.

Sighing, he knelt next to her and tenderly smoothed back lacy wisps of chocolate hair from her forehead. His fingertips lingered on the petal-soft porcelain skin, retaining the color of moonlight, and Jason took care to make sure his movements didn't in turn cause the swing to move. She looked…tired. And upset. And she couldn't be very comfortable, either.

Licking his lips, Jason rose from his crouched position and leaned forward, gently scooping the slumbering brunette in his arms. She murmured something unintelligible, frowning in her dreams, and her small hand swept across his bare chest as he grasped her more firmly.

She was light – very light. And when her cheek pressed up hard against the bare plane of his chest and her hair tickled his side, Jason began to think that maybe lifting her up and taking her to bed hadn't been the brightest idea.

His bare feet scuffled over the wooden planks of the back porch as he quietly let himself back into the house. Elizabeth stirred slightly in his strong arms, even obliviously rubbing his chest with her small hand. Jason sucked in a shallow breath when the pad of her thumb skimmed over his nipple, and walked that much faster toward the stairwell. Even when she was asleep, the woman tortured him.

Elizabeth's lips skimmed his collar bone when Jason adjusted her positioning, taking care to ascend the stairs with the least amount of jostling possible. After what seemed like an eternity of climbing, he finally reached her bedroom and pushed the door open with his bare foot, slowly making his way to her bedside.

She had changed the sheets as soon as she had emerged from her shower that first day; something about the smell of disease or weakness. Instead, she had picked a pale blue sheet-and-blanket combination, and her matching pillowcase displayed a sprinkling of dainty little white flowers. It was on this sea of blue that Jason gently laid her down, holding his breath and half-expecting her to wake up. But she slept on, murmuring something more as soon as her head hit the pillow. Jason watched, utterly enamored with her delicate mannerisms, as she curled into a ball and sank her cheek into the pillow. A gentle tug pulled the sheets free, and he tenderly covered her up, bringing the soft cotton up under her chin even though he knew she'd have kicked it off by the time the sun reached the horizon.

He didn't know how long he stood there, watching her as she slept. She didn't move in her slumber, but she did occasionally let out little murmurs and moans and wounded sighs. Jason's gaze always returned to her mouth – those perfect, full, nude lips that were parted ever so slightly to offer a glimmer of her pearly white teeth underneath.

He wanted to kiss her.

She wasn't his to kiss.

With a sigh, Jason knelt down and brushed his lips gently against her forehead. He didn't know what sort of spell she had cast over him – all he knew was that she dominated his thoughts and colored his world, and that there was no escaping her. Somehow, she had slipped past all the defenses he had erected and claimed the citadel of his heart, never to relinquish it. His steps were heavy as he left her room, his hand lingering on the doorknob.

"Goodnight, Elizabeth."

* * *

_"OK, yeah, so I definitely never thought I'd be saying this, but my brother totally needs to learn how to shut up."_

"Oh, Em…"

_"No, seriously! He's being such a guy! He couldn't even stu-fu long enough for you to tell him what an idiot he was being! Ugh. Men."_

Elizabeth laughed lightly into the receiver. It was morning – an early one for her even though the sun had long since been up. She had woken up around eight o'clock to find herself in her own bed – most likely either Trey or Paco's doing. A little exploring told her that Paco was the only other person in the house besides Jason, and he was busy reading the paper in the library. She had greeted him and then announced that she was going to go for a walk by the ocean. He hadn't lifted an eyebrow in return, just promised that breakfast would be ready when she returned.

So Elizabeth had slipped back upstairs and into a white bikini that she had the good sense to bring along, quickly grabbing an almost sheer, pale blue sarong to wrap around her waist. She searched for flip-flops but didn't fret when they failed to turn up, and just walked downstairs and out the door barefoot.

The island was quiet, and very serene. The white sand was already warm under her feet, having basked in the sun for a couple hours while she was still sleeping, and the foamy waves of the cerulean sea lapped the shore greedily, leaving it slick and cool under her toes. It was a perfect morning to be out walking; especially after her less-than-perfect night.

_"Well, you know what you've got to do."_

Elizabeth cringed, knowing all too well what her friend was talking about but found herself stalling anyway. "What?"

_"You've got to set him straight, Elizabeth! He still thinks you're with Lucky, for crying out loud!"_

"I know, it's just that…"

_"What?"_ There was an impatient pause and Elizabeth could almost hear Emily putting the pieces together._ "Oh, man. Elizabeth! You're being a chicken, aren't you?"_

"Yes."

_"I swear, sometimes I don't know who's a bigger idiot – you or Jason."_

"Definitely Jason."

_"The jury's still out."_

"Yeah, yeah."

_"Elizabeth, I'm telling you, you have to set him straight. Just tell him point-blank that even though you may have 'died' for Lucky, if that's how he wants to look at it, you're not in love with him anymore after everything that happened and that you have no plans to return to him."_

There was a guilty pause.

_"What? You don't, do you?"_

"Do I what?"

_"Plan to go back to Lucky."_

"Emily!" Elizabeth was almost appalled at the genuine confusion in her best friend's voice. "No, of course not! Why would you think that?"

_"Well…"_

"Go ahead."

A deep sigh. _"Don't get me wrong here, Elizabeth – you know I love you and stuff, but…"_

"But…?"

_"But you don't exactly have such a hot track record when it comes to Jason and Lucky."_

"Em…"

_"No, just hear me out for a second; I need to say this. Every time there might have been something…going on between you and Jason, you'd always turn around and fly straight to Lucky. I get that you felt like you were cheating on him, Elizabeth, and I get that you loved him. Believe me, I do – no one knows better than me. I saw you two fall in love for the first time; I know how deep those feelings run. I knew all that and that's exactly what I told Jason. And no matter how much you wanted to deny it before, there definitely was something happening between you and my brother. And you'd always go back to Lucky."_

"Are you saying-"

_"I'm just saying that I get why you did, and I don't blame you for that. But I can't forget the fact that my brother was always the one left out in the cold – he was the one that got hurt in all of this, Elizabeth."_

"I-"

_"I know that it wasn't easy for you, either, I really do. You have to know, Elizabeth, that I don't blame you for sticking with Lucky. But I do blame you for the way you handled the whole situation. I've never seen Jason as…mad or frustrated or hurt as he was the last time he was in Port Charles. Not since Carly took Michael from him, I mean. And even though I understood the circumstances, it still wasn't possible for me to accept that my friend was responsible for that without feeling a tad bit resentful."_

Elizabeth didn't say anything; she just switched the phone to her other ear and let her sheer sarong dance in the summer breeze as she walked, the cool water lapping at her painted toes.

_"I don't want him to get hurt again, Elizabeth."_

"I know," she sighed softly. "Neither do I. I never want to hurt him like that again."

_"I know you don't,"_ Emily replied honestly. _"I know you didn't mean to do it the first time. But that's why this is so important, Elizabeth – you have to tell him the truth and get rid of all the misunderstandings between you two. If you don't work them out, then you're both just going to keep hurting each other."_

"I know."

_"So you gonna tell him? The truth, I mean?"_

The brunette let out a groan, covering her eyes with her free hand. "If I can somehow miraculously work up that kind of courage."

_"Elizabeth!"_

"Well, what do you want from me? Have you _seen_ your brother, Em? He's freaking intimidating sometimes!"

She was less than pleased to hear her best friend burst into peals of laughter. _"Are you scared of Jason, Elizabeth?"_

The very idea was appalling. "No!"

_"Yes, you are! Oh, my God, that's too hilarious! Wait'll I tell Zander-"_

Despite the fact that she was completely alone, Elizabeth's cheeks turned bright red. "Emily Bowen Quartermaine, you are not going to discuss this conversation with _anyone_! And certainly not your nosey boyfriend who-"

_"Okay, okay,"_ Emily laughed. _"Fine. But only if you stop being such a chicken."_

"It's going to be terrible, Em," Elizabeth confided in a low voice. "How do I say all this? Where do I even begin?"

There was a long pause as her friend thought. _"Well, Frauline Maria said that a very good place to start is the beginning."_

"Please don't tell me you just had another _Sound of Music_ marathon."

_"Hey! It was movie night here at the clinic! And don't rag on the Sound of Music."_

"Fine, fine."

_"Anyway, I still say that the best way to tell him is to tie him down to a chair and just spill it."_

"You know I'd never be able to do that."

_"What, the tying up part? Jeez, Webber, where is your kinky side? I know you've got one."_

"Oh, shut up, Emily. I meant the whole 'spilling' bit. I'd never be able to do it. I can't just _tell_ him. There's too much to tell."

There was a thoughtful pause on the other line. _"Well, how about showing it?"_

"What do you mean? You're not suggesting I paint a picture, are you? Because that would be the dumbest part of this conversation yet and-"

_"No, no – will you just listen? Jeez, no wonder Jason can't shut up – he obviously gets it from you. Anyways, if you can't tell him, then I'm thinking you could show him. You know – play it up a bit. You guys are sharing a house on the beach of a private island, for God's sake! Play up the feminine charms, woman!"_

"Emily! Are you suggesting that I hit on him?"

_"Well, yeah, sure, why not? Hey, it's obvious that he's not going to be making any moves, right? He still thinks you've got 'Property of Lucky Spencer' stamped on your forehead. So take things into your own hands – show him how you feel if you can't tell him. It's the little things that count, Elizabeth – he'll pick up on the signals, I'm sure of it. And if he asks what the deal is, well, you can work from there. You can show and explain that you're not in love with Lucky – that you haven't been for a long time now. You can make him understand that taking the poison wasn't so much 'dying' for Lucky as it was repaying a debt you felt you had come to owe him. You're free, Elizabeth, like you said you would be the last time we talked. You're free to do what you want, and if that happens to be my brother, well, then, hey, more power to ya."_

"Emily!"

_"What? Don't bother denying it – you want my brother. You want him bad."_

"Oh, dear Lord, why do I talk to you?"

_"Seriously, Elizabeth, all joking aside – I say have some fun. Play with him a bit. And be sure to lemme know how it goes – just leave out the smutty stuff, okay? Even I have limits."_

"Woah, news bulletin! Sound the alarm!"

_"Very funny. Call me crazy, but I really have to draw the line at hearing about you and my brother get it on. I have to run now – we're supposed to be in the dining hall in an hour and I should make a break for it if I want to snag a shower spot."_

"Okay, I'll talk to you later, Em."

_"Don't lose heart, Elizabeth. Just…go with it. Yeah. Be obvious - that's the whole point of this. No more mixed signals. And be sure to tell me how it goes! Just not the between-the-sheets stuff."_

"Goodbye, Emily."

_"Later, Elizabeth."_

She clicked off the phone and lowered her hand limply to her side, replaying Emily's words in her head. Maybe the little vixen was right – maybe it _was_ time to jump the gun and _show_ Jason how she felt. It might be awkward, but she was sure that it would also be a relief. There had always been an almost animalistic sexual tension between them and she was looking forward to exploring it – albeit very nervously.

She had noticed that she was drawing closer to the house and took the time to enjoy the surf a little more before venturing back. The waves lapped at her ankles and Elizabeth skipped and whirled through it, kicking it up in a pristine spray that arced up into the brilliant sunlight. Humming to herself, she grasped her airy sarong behind her with both hands and let it flutter gaily in the breeze, kicking at the frothy waves with her slender feet.

Elizabeth was usually able to tell when she was being watched, but at that moment as she played about merrily in the surf, all such suspicion escaped her. Had it not, she would have realized that a pair of intense blue eyes had been trained on her figure ever since she came into view.

Jason Morgan had been standing on the back porch in his pajama bottoms for the last fifteen minutes, drinking his coffee and watching her stroll along the sea. She was a vision of perfection – her skin several shades darker than the pure white bikini she wore and bronzing nicely, her hair open and spilling over her shoulders in loose waves. He couldn't have torn his gaze from her if he had tried with all his might, especially since there was nothing holding up Elizabeth's bikini except a couple thin, flimsy little strings. Strings that could easily be undone with one swipe of a hand.

He'd never pegged himself to be a masochist, but after the last fifteen minutes, Jason decided that he most definitely had to be.

Her body was perfect, all soft curves and graceful slopes, just as he knew it would be. The skimpy swimsuit offered a very appealing view of her cleavage and toned backside, and her hips swayed to a beat that all women heard internally. Skimming the waves and gracefully twirling about, she looked more like a fairy than his Elizabeth, and Jason was content to just stand there and watch even though he knew that he shouldn't be.

After all, she wasn't his to watch.

She had stopped playing about and had turned toward the house once more, and Jason knew he had to move before she spotted him staring at her. With a heavy sigh, he pulled back and ambled toward the screen door, his hand tightly closed around his black coffee mug. Elizabeth was his houseguest for an indefinite period, but more importantly, she was his top priority – her safety, her happiness, her well-being all rested squarely on his shoulders. And Jason wouldn't dream of disappointing her. He'd keep her safe, he'd keep her healthy, he'd do her best to keep her happy; and then he'd have to send her back to Port Charles into the waiting arms of a young man he had come to hate deeply.

It wouldn't be easy, but despite their proximity, he would have to keep a great deal of emotional distance from the petite brunette that had laid claim to him so long ago.


	7. Safe Haven prt 7

**  
**

**Part 7**

If she didn't know better, Elizabeth would have sworn that Jason Morgan was avoiding her.

He'd been cooped up in his office all day, and occasionally she'd hear murmurings that indicated he was on the phone. Trey had been around at breakfast but had left a short while later, and Paco had kept her company for a little while before running off to take care of his own affairs. So Elizabeth spent the next couple of hours in the kitchen with Betty learning how to make the éclairs that Trey was so crazy about.

But Betty left the house in the afternoon, leaving Elizabeth alone with her thoughts. She had been trying to keep them at bay since her conversation with Emily, but now they rushed to meet her. And with Jason locked up in his office like Rapunzel in her tower, she had no choice but to entertain them.

After a long time of listening to Jason's incoherent murmuring, Elizabeth finally went up to her bedroom and changed into her white bikini from that morning, intent on going out and enjoying the afternoon sun. Armed with a white towel, a tube of sunscreen, and a bottle of water, Elizabeth slipped out of the house and ambled down to the beach.

* * *

Sonny Corinthos leaned back in his black leather desk chair, squaring his shoulders and trying in vain to relieve the tension that had gathered there. Sighing with frustration, he switched the telephone to his other ear and frowned with concentration, carefully listening to Jason as he accounted events on the island. But there was nothing much to account for, and neither men were ones for idle chit-chat.

As Jason was preparing to hang up, Sonny's voice abruptly cut through the receiver. _"Jason?"_

The younger man frowned. "Yeah?"

"_How's…how's Elizabeth doing? I mean, really?"_

He'd been a fool to think that he could escape without this brand of inquisition. "She's…good."

"_I know she's good – you already told me that she's almost fully recovered. I mean, how is she really?"_

Jason's jaw ticked. "What do you want me to say, Sonny?"

He could almost see the Cuban sigh and grasp his neck, a behavioral quirk he had developed long ago. _"Just be honest, Jason."_

There was a first – no one had ever told _him_ to be honest before. And the fact that Sonny just had made Jason frown to himself. "She's…she's going to be fine. Once she's back in Port Charles, she'll…be fine."

"Jason-" 

"Sonny, just drop it, okay?" His nose had found itself between his thumb and his forefinger, and Jason let out a long sigh through his teeth and twisted around in his chair to face the windows overlooking the beach. "She's just here until it's safe for her to go back, right?"

Sonny hesitated at the almost-bitter tone of Jason's voice. _"Jason, I don't know how much you two have talked about this, but..."_

He could hear his friend still talking, but Jason's mind was no longer tuned in to what he was saying. Instead, as he stared out of the enormous bay window, all he could see was Elizabeth and Paco on the beach. She was wearing a..._woah_. His throat went dry and Jason swallowed painfully. It was the same barely-there bikini from before – just a few skinny little strings holding it correctly over her nymph-like body. Her skin glowed from a combination of warm sunlight and freshly-applied sunscreen, and her hair cascaded down her back and fluttered lightly in the wind. Paco must have been teasing her, because her cheeks were tinted pink and she was threatening to hit him with one of her small fists.

Sonny droned on unintelligibly, not knowing that instead of paying attention, his best friend was dreaming up a thousand different ways to put Paco six feet under, each one more creative than the one before. Especially when the bodyguard wrapped his strong arms around Elizabeth's tiny waist and threw her over his shoulder, kicking and screaming, and marched toward the surf, determined to throw her in.

"_Jason..." _Sonny's voice cut through his angered musing. _"Look, I'm not trying to meddle, but Elizabeth...she's important. She's important to both of us. Her safety and happiness, Jason, they're paramount. But that doesn't mean that yours aren't."_

The words rolled around in Jason's head as he watched Paco dangle Elizabeth precariously close to the waist-deep water he stood in, jostling her slight frame in his arms. She was yelping and clawing at his back to maintain her hold, kicking all the while.

"_I want her happy, but I want you to be happy, too. For once, Jason – do what it takes to make that happen. For her sake and yours."_

His boss fell silent, knowing he wouldn't get a reply from his best friend. Jason, however, was still watching Elizabeth and the bodyguard on the beach, taking in the way she laughed and squealed and the way his hands held her firmly aloft of the cold waves.

That settled it – Paco Beltran Valencia would soon find _himself_ swimming with the fishes.

* * *

Elizabeth idly brushed the wet sand from where it clung to her feet and calves, her eyes lingering on the brilliant blue ocean. The sun was low in the sky, making the waters sparkle. It would be setting soon.

Paco had gone inside a while ago, reluctantly admitting that he had work to do. It was nice to spend time with the bodyguard – she hadn't been lying when she told him that he reminded her of Francis Corelli. Both men looked at her the same way, spoke to her the same way, even teased her the same way – as if she was a little sister that they had grown up with instead of a friend of their employer.

She lay slowly back on her fluffy white towel, closing her eyes and letting the warmth of the late sun sweep over her body. The island was so beautiful at all times of the day. It was pristine and pure in the early mornings, when the sun was just beginning to chase away the dew that had formed on Trey's windowsill plants; it was alive and vibrant in the afternoons, when the sunlight fell like a blanket over the lush land; it was peaceful in the evenings, when there was hardly a sound but the crashing of the waves against the sand; and it was so...breathtaking at night. Warm and dewy and dark – the perfect time to cuddle up on the porch swing or on the beach and just..._be._

Her mind drifted back to her conversation with Emily. As crazy as her best friend was, she made a lot of sense sometimes. Her relationship with Jason had been cloaked with misunderstanding ever since he came back to Port Charles and hid in her studio. Things hadn't been going right for a while, and with his arrival, everything had spiraled out of control.

She hadn't wanted to see what was right in front of her; she had just kept writing it off and chalking it up to their unique "friendship". Or was that "more-than-friendship"? It didn't matter. Emily was right: Jason was the one that had gotten hurt the most. He had been made to see time and time again that his feelings just didn't matter, and the part that hurt the most was that she had promised herself a long, long time ago that she would never subject him to that.

His proximity, his significance in her life had scared her. Had scared her so bad that she bolted at every opportunity. She had told him that one day – when she found him sitting alone on that bench in the park – that he was different, that he wasn't just Emily's brother anymore. That realization hadn't been scary; neither had accepting it. But what completely turned her world upside-down was the realization that he wasn't just her friend anymore.

She wouldn't have lied to her boyfriend for just a _friend_. She wouldn't have sought comfort at each and every turn in the road from just a _friend_. She wouldn't have been asked to run away to Italy by just a _friend_.

Somehow, Jason had risen above all the roadblocks she had tried to set up. Elizabeth had seen the flicker of pain in his eyes every time she told him that she loved Lucky – but that still hadn't made him back off. He made himself a constant, solid presence in her life and she knew she loved it and relied on it even when she told herself it was wrong.

It had been a confusing time for her, a fork in the road that would eventually lead her away from the 16 year-old Elizabeth that Lucky found in the bushes to the older Elizabeth that screamed into the wind and practiced her right hook on the bridge at night. And despite the fact that she hadn't known up from down, right from wrong at that tumultuous point in her life, there was no excuse for what she had done to Jason.

She had always seen him as this invincible man, a pillar of wisdom, strength, and courage. He had an answer for everything, and if he didn't, well, he just didn't give a fuck. Nothing was too hard for him; nothing too uncomfortable. Nothing tested the limits of his capability. He had been strong, solid, steadfast.

And she had single-handedly turned him into a confused, angry, and torn man.

The sun kissed the blue waves on the horizon, its golden brilliance merging with the sparkling of the water, and Elizabeth looked away. Her fingers had been idly tracing the same pattern over and over in the sand, and she wiped it away with the palm of her hand without a second glance.

At times, she thought that it was too late to fix everything that had broken between them. But at other times, she thought that there was no other way. There were two roads diverging in the white sands of the remote island: one was the road back to Jason, back to their friendship, back to a place where everything was right and good and made sense. The other was the road to perdition, covered in thorns.

Emily had told her to do away with all the misunderstandings, to make Jason understand where she stood. Even if he understood, there would be no guarantee that he'd believe her. She'd let him down too many times to hope for that.

A soft blush tinted her cheeks as she remembered what her best friend had also told her: _I still say that the best way to tell him is to tie him down to a chair and just spill it._ True to her sometimes flighty, romantic self, Emily had warbled on about seduction and womanly wiles, knowing that she was making her best friend _very_ uncomfortable but as usual, not giving a damn.

Elizabeth had to admit that the plan had initially appealed to her. She had sent Jason mixed signals in the past – now was the time to send him entirely overt signals. But the more she reflected on their unique..._situation_ and the state of their current relationship, the more she thought that seduction and insinuation definitely were not the way to go about it. She felt that it would be making light of the situation, and Jason didn't deserve that.

No, the best way to do this, the best way to mend the rift would be to sit him down and just _talk_. She was still scared to death about the entire ordeal, but certain things just had to be done.

The thought made her laugh. Ingesting poison at the hand of Helena Cassidine hadn't scared her – but telling Jason Morgan how she really felt _did_. She just _had_ to get her priorities straightened out, it seemed.

Still chuckling to herself, Elizabeth barely heard the soft sound of bare feet treading across the hot sand. So when Jason knelt down beside her, his shadow falling over across her cheeks and chest, her surprise was immediate and apparent.

"Jason!"

"Sorry," he answered simply, sitting down on the sand. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She watched him numbly as he held out a glass of iced tea to her, accepting it slowly. Trey had finally okay'ed the caffeine, and she had been guzzling it down like crazy all day. The ice cubes in Jason's own glass clinked as he situated himself more comfortably on the sand. When he looked up, he was mildly surprised to see her staring back with a look of total bewilderment written on her face.

The corner of his mouth hooked up as he lifted his glass and quirked one sandy brow at her. "Hey."

Elizabeth relaxed almost immediately, her own lips spreading in a shy and relieved smile. "Hey yourself."


	8. Safe Haven prt 8

**Part 8**

Carly Corinthos trudged wearily down the steps to the main floor of her penthouse to see her husband sprawled out on the couch, half-asleep, with an unfinished glass of scotch in his hand. Sighing softly, she tiptoed over to him and gently pulled the glass out of his grasp before he spilled it all on his favorite sofas.

The slight movement startled Sonny, and his obsidian eyes flew open. Carly smiled apologetically and sat down next to him, arranging the cushions around him so that he would be more comfortable.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake ya."

"It's okay – I shouldn't be sleeping anyway," Sonny sighed wearily, shifting on the couch. He knew he was supposed to be up and working, but the minute his wife snuggled into his side and leaned her head on his shoulder, all thoughts of departing flew from his head. "Carly…"

"Hmm?" Her fingers traced a heart over his olive green shirt, and Sonny closed his eyes, relishing the feeling. Instead of speaking, he pressed a kiss to her golden hair and tightened his hold around her waist.

Long moments passed and still they sat, holding each other. Michael slept peacefully upstairs, a big relief – Carly had been trying to get him to bed for the past hour. But the young boy was worried about Gramma Bobbie and Uncle Luke and even Cousin Lucky. Despite the fact that Sonny and Carly had tried to keep him far away from the Spencer-Cassidine feud, Michael still knew something was dreadfully wrong.

"You're thinking too loud."

Sonny opened his eyes at the sound of his wife's voice, shaking his head briskly. "Yeah…"

She looked up at him, her brown eyes dull and tired. "You wanna talk about it?"

There was a long pause, leading her to believe that he didn't. After all, it was nothing new. Sonny Corinthos didn't emote; he didn't discuss his feelings or worse, his fears. It had been pointless to ask.

"I'm…I'm worried about this whole Spencer and Cassidine thing."

She blinked, snuggling up under his chin. She could feel his pulse racing at her temple, and his heart pounded a steady beat under her palm. "I know."

"How's Michael doing?"

His top button found itself between her thumb and forefinger as she played with it absently. "Okay, all things considered. He's confused. And scared that something's gonna happen to Mama."

Sonny's fingers clenched in the fabric of her red tank top. "That won't happen. I won't let anyone hurt Bobbie."

"I know," she assured him softly. "I know you won't. I told him that – I told him that Daddy would take care of Gramma just like he'd always take care of us." Her sigh was lost in the folds of his oxford shirt. "He wanted to believe me, but he's just so scared."

Sonny's lips found her hairline as she continued to speak, her words growing softer and her breathing erratic. "H-He doesn't see Mama anymore at the hospital o-or Kelly's. She's at the Brownstone all the time, and Roy's with her. After what happened to Lucas…God, they barely go outside anymore." She closed her eyes tightly, her fingers fisting in his shirt. "Can you believe that, Sonny? _Poison_. Poison in my brother's milk." Her husband trailed his fingers through her soft tawny locks, doing his best to soothe her wordlessly. "He just came back from soccer practice and wanted to show Lucky his new moves, and then…"

"I know, I know," Sonny murmured, wrapping his arms around her slender body. She had lost a lot of weight in the past week, and he could feel her hipbones and ribs protruding from under her pajamas.

"And Lucky did it," she whispered, a single tear racing down her cheek and falling onto Sonny's now-wrinkled shirt. "He did it."

"Shh," Sonny soothed, not knowing what to say. "Carly, he's not right. He's not right in the head. You know that."

She nodded mournfully. "I didn't want to believe it. None of us wanted to. Mama would just say he was tired, under a lot of stress from Deception. And Luke didn't even want to _talk_ about it. Nikolas…I think he's been trying to help, but it's like Lucky cut all ties with him…God, I don't know what we can do…"

"Carly." Sonny's voice was sharp and terse as he straightened abruptly, cupping her face and forcing her to look up at him. "Carly, listen to me. Nothing is going to happen to you or Michael or to the Spencers. We'll stop this, I know we will."

Tears were swimming in her dark brown eyes. "But who else has to die before we do, Sonny?"

He gave her a little shake, drawing in a quick breath when her cool hands closed over his own. "No one. Do you hear me, Carly? _No one else has to die._"

Carly closed her eyes, berating herself for crying again. God, she had sworn she wouldn't do this. "Elizabeth did."

Sonny's hands slid from her face and into her lap, his fingers twining with hers. "Elizabeth's safe, Carly. She's on the island with the guards. She's fine. It was only an act. You know that."

"She _could_ have died, Sonny," Carly pointed out, ignoring the surprise evident on her husband's face. "If Nikolas had given her one drop too much, she would _really_ be dead."

"How-" Words seemed to escape him. "How did you know that?"

Instead of shrinking away, Carly met his gaze dead-on. "I heard you on the phone. I know what happened."

Sonny sighed, removing one hand from hers to roughly grasp the back of his neck. "Carly…"

"Stop." The tears had stopped, and something new was shining in his wife's now dry eyes – something he couldn't altogether place. "Don't say anything, Sonny. I didn't mean to listen in, but I was in the kitchen and I heard. I know what she did – Mama gave her the poison, didn't she?"

Normally, he would have cut the conversation off by just getting up off the couch and attending to his work, but something in her voice kept him rooted. After a long pause, he finally answered. "Yes."

"From the hospital?"

"Yes."

"And Nikolas was supposed to put it in her drink and make Helena think that she had passed out, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

She quirked one perfectly plucked sandy eyebrow at him. "So? What happened?"

The mobster licked his lips, his gaze settling on his half-finished glass of scotch on the table. "He put the poison in her wine and they drank it. Elizabeth passed out completely – no pulse, no heartbeat, or so it seemed. When Helena was satisfied, she left the yacht convinced that Nikolas had fulfilled his duty to the Cassidine empire. Lucky burst in on them just then and thought that Nikolas killed her."

Carly closed her eyes at the mention of her cousin's name but didn't say anything, the almost imperceptible nod of her head imploring her husband to continue.

"He went out of his mind, and Nikolas got his men to keep him at bay while Elizabeth started coming to. That's when my men boarded the yacht and got her out of there. Lucky still thinks she's dead, and for all intents and purposes, she is."

Carly was staring at her hands, fiddling with her wedding ring. "She could have died."

"But she didn't."

"She could have," the blonde repeated, finally looking up at him, and Sonny was almost unprepared to see the regret and loathing in her eyes. "She was willing to. She knew that one drop too much could have killed her, right – I mean, she _had_ to know. But still, she did it." He watched her shake her head ruefully. "And here I am, hiding out in my penthouse."

His hand reached out for hers. "Hey…"

Carly cut him off with one shake of her head. "They're more my family than they are hers – I'm Bobbie's _daughter_, Luke's _niece_. She was just going to marry Luke's stupid son. I should have been the one helping them, trying to fight this, and instead, I've done nothing. Meanwhile, she was totally prepared to give her life just so-"

"Hey, come here." Without waiting for an argument, Sonny reached out and pulled a tearful Carly into himself. "It's okay. Carly-"

"I should help," she whispered, her hand fisting in his shirt. "I need to do something. They need me to help."

"They _need_ you to stay safe," Sonny corrected. "They need you and Michael to stay safe and to stay out of this." There was a brief pause in the conversation, and Sonny decided to seize the moment. "Carly, I think you and Michael should go to the island."

She straightened almost immediately, a wild look in her eyes as she stared down at him. "Sonny-"

"I want you safe," he repeated firmly. "I-I can't deal with it if Michael comes home from the park and someone's poisoned _his_ milk, Carly. I can't. Let me send you to the island. Let me get you out of here – you need to be safe. I can't protect you as well here-"

Her finger on his lips silenced him, and Sonny closed his eyes when her perfume washed over him as she leaned closer. "You protect us just fine, Michael Corinthos. You do a _damn good job_ protecting us." Her fingers tenderly stroked the raven hair at his temple. "Michael and I need to stay here, Sonny – with you. He needs to be with his father – he needs to know that everything is going to be fine because his daddy will always look out for him. You know how scared he is now? You ship us out to that island and it's going to be ten times worse. He needs to be here, with his family." She settled into his side, her fingers slipping in under the fabric of his shirt as she lightly stroked his chest. "And _I_ need to be here with mine. I need to stay for Mama and Lucas and Uncle Luke – I can't leave them here to fight alone and go off to play in the sand at the island."

She could see his slight pout. "_Elizabeth's_ off playing in the sand at the island."

Carly wrinkled her nose at the vision. "Yeah, well, Muffin's done her part. She's already fought for them. Who knows – maybe she's fought the most. She deserves to disappear and take things easy for a while. She needs to do that. And _we_ need to stay here and keep fighting."

"Then we'll keep fighting," Sonny promised, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and feeling a wave of comfort and relief wash over him when she snuggled deeper into his chest. "Luke and Nikolas both know that I'm here if they need anything. It looks like we're all in this together."

"Back to the days of the Spencer-Corinthos alliance," Carly chuckled to herself. "Seriously – who'da thunk it?"

Sonny grinned and pressed another kiss to her hairline. They were silent again for a long time before Carly spoke.

"Sonny?"

"Yeah?"

"She's on the island with Jason, isn't she?"

"Do you really want the answer to that?"

"You just gave it to me."

He smiled, practically feeling her grimace against him.

"Sonny?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you talk to her?"

"Elizabeth?"

"Yeah."

He shook his head, his fingers running idly up and down her spine. "No."

"Oh."

He knew there was more to her little interrogation and as usual, Carly didn't disappoint.

"Sonny?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you talk to Jason?"

"Yes."

"How's he doing?"

"Good."

The clock ticked audibly, each second making its departure known to the two inhabitants of the penthouse, and Sonny could almost hear the gears in Carly's head ticking away as well.

"Is he…happy?"

The mobster's sigh rustled through her tawny hair. "He's gettin' there."

"Oh."

The scotch in Sonny's glass swished when he picked it up, the amber liquid catching the light and sparkling as he raised it to his lips.

"Sonny?"

"Mm?"

"If you talk to him again – Jason, I mean – could you ask him to…ask him to tell her I said…thanks."

* * *

The sun had disappeared halfway under the brilliant waves, painting the sky in rich, warm tones of pink and red. A slight breeze rustled its way across the earth, kicking up loose grains of sand and making Elizabeth's hair flutter and tickle Jason's shoulder. Not that he could complain.

They had been sitting out together, watching the sunset silently for a little while. There just didn't seem to be a great need to talk. And just as he was settling into the comfortable silence, Elizabeth's hesitant voice cut through it.

"Jason, can we talk?"

He did his best not to show that he was startled, and what was more, uncomfortable. When he turned to face her – somewhat reluctantly – his calm eyes betrayed nothing. "Sure."

She nibbled on her lip, knowing that he wasn't going to say any more and that the ball was indeed in her court. Wonderful. "We really need to talk about…about this whole thing. My leaving Port Charles, coming here, all that stuff." He remained silent while she gathered her thoughts.

"Last night…you didn't let me finish what I had to say." He raised his head sharply, cerulean orbs boring into hers. "You're the first one to ask my _why_ I did what I did. Nikolas didn't ever ask – I think he might've thought that it was too good to be true, you know, so that if he asked he'd jinx it and I'd change my mind." She licked her lower lip, and Jason averted his gaze to the ocean once more. "I did what I did because it was the last thing to do. The Spencers are like family to me, Jason – they always have been. So when Helena told Nikolas to prove his loyalty to her and the Cassidines by getting rid of me – the woman he was supposedly in love with –" Playing with the sand, Elizabeth missed the way Jason flinched. "The choice was easy. Pretending to die would save my family. It would give Nikolas a way into Helena's inner circle. He could figure out everything and take it straight to Luke, who'd know exactly what to do to take her down."

The seagulls screeched, soaring majestically through the sky. Jason's hands had tightened around his glass, cutting his circulation off and making his knuckles a pasty white. Still, Elizabeth played with the sand.

"I was the key to all this. I was the one last obstacle in Nikolas' way to becoming a true Cassidine, as Helena saw it. And with me gone, nothing can stop Nikolas from figuring all this out and making it right again." She turned her body sideways to face Jason, and an uneasy feeling grew in the pit of her stomach when she saw how tightly his handsome features were set. "It wasn't about dying for just Lucky."

She saw him steel his jaw at the mention of the boy's name, but forged on anyway. "It was more about dying for…for the dream that Helena Cassidine wouldn't be able to terrorize anyone anymore. It was about protecting the Spencers, who've always looked out for me and loved me like a daughter; for Nikolas, who's been one of my best friends and has always cared about me; for Bobbie, who's always been the first to offer advice or her help, and who's suffered enough at that witch's hands; for kids like Lulu and Lucas and Michael, who don't deserve to inherit that legacy of feuding and bloodshed just because they've got the name 'Spencer' tacked onto their family tree."

Jason's eyes softened at the mention of the boy he had once considered a son, but as quick as a flash, they hardened once more as he resumed staring out at the crisp blue ocean.

He heard what she was saying; he heard the soft, pleading sound of her voice as she implored him to understand. And though he tried to, the moment brought him back to all those times she had implored him to understand her commitment to Lucky. All those times that she had shied away from his touch, his kiss, only to tell him that she loved Lucky. He had to hear that over and over and over; at one point he had found himself bitterly wondering if she knew any phrase other than "Jason, I love Lucky".

She had been confused then, and he hadn't blamed her; her entire world was shifting on its axis. Her old friend came back to town after being gone for such a long time, and she suddenly discovered that their relationship was nowhere near as platonic as it used to be. He didn't blame her for being confused and torn; on the other hand, he couldn't help but blame her for the way she had treated him. She had always taken Lucky's side over his; Lucky was always in the right while he was standing ambiguously in some gray area. And he wouldn't soon forget the way she had looked at him after that tussle with Lucky on the docks. She hadn't trusted him and he had done his best to understand. But moreover, she had – knowingly or not – trampled all over his feelings and made them seem worthless. And try as he might, he just _couldn't_ understand that.

And sitting here on the seashore, listening to her speak, was too similar to standing in the park and listening to her proclaim her love for Lucky, telling him not-too-implicitly that he just didn't fit into her life.

Her words floated over him as an angry, uneasy feeling gnawed away at Jason's stomach. "That's why I did it, Jason. No one deserves to have the threat of Helena Cassidine looming over their family; no one needs to live with that fear and uncertainty, waiting for her next move. She's a dangerous woman capable of dangerous, terrible things." Elizabeth shrugged helplessly. "She stole Lucky from us. She took him away in that fire at the garage and he's never been the same since, no matter how hard we tried to pretend."

Yeah, it was funny how it always came down to that – pretending.

He could feel her big blue eyes trained on his though he offered only his profile. A long moment passed, and that gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach only increased.

"Jason, I didn't die _for _Lucky. I don't want you to think that." She shifted closer, dropping a hand on its knee. And it was strange – the touch that once put Jason at such ease now made his stomach clench painfully. "Jason, I've closed the book on that part of my life."

Her lips were pursed together and her eyes peered soulfully back at him when he finally turned to look at her. "I don't want to live in the past like that, Jason. I did it before. I don't want to do it anymore."

Something inside him fluttered hopefully. But she couldn't mean…

The sun had already disappeared, and the faint moonlight made Elizabeth's eyes glitter like sapphires. "I don't know how to tell you what it meant, Jason, to wake up and see you with me. To know that no matter what, you'd always be there to protect me and take care of me. And being here these past few days, here, with you…" A ghost of a smile ran across her full lips, and her eyes softened tenderly. "Jason, you need to know something."

He closed his eyes tightly.

"I don't want to keep hiding from you. Doing this dance that we've done since you came back to Port Charles the last time." She swallowed once, scratching one palm with the nails of the other hand. Lord, this was the hardest thing she had ever done. "I don't want to be with Lucky anymore."

His piercing blue eyes flew open, and Jason turned on the sand to face her, bewilderment written all over his handsome face.

The intensity of his gaze unnerved her, and Elizabeth pulled her lower lip in between her teeth. "I-I can't be with him anymore. It's too different now. I'm n-not that person anymore, and neither is he." Her heart was racing; Jason was just staring at her. He had yet to say anything. "I-I'll always love him, but I'm just not _in_ love with him anymore. He'll always be an important part of my life, but he can't-"

Jason closed his eyes. It always came back to that. It always came back to how damn important Lucky was. She just couldn't stop saying his name. And, he noted with a cringe, while she had said that she didn't want to be with Lucky anymore, she hadn't said anything about who she _did_ want to be with.

Yeah, it always came back to that – how Lucky was so fucking important and how he himself had yet to find a definite place of his own in her life.

With a brisk shake of his head, Jason pulled himself to his feet. Elizabeth watched, stunned, as he brushed the sand off his jeans, but he studiously avoided his gaze as he stood.

"Elizabeth, stop." His voice was soft, tightly drawn, weary, and Elizabeth had no choice but to snap her mouth shut as she craned her neck up to look at him. Oh, no. Something had gone dreadfully wrong. Somewhere, she had said something and completely messed it all up.

He looked down at her then, and for the first time, she couldn't read his emotions. The mask had descended, the one that was reserved for everyone but her. Never her. Until now.

"I can't do this anymore," he offered simply, holding his hands helplessly out at his sides. "I-I can't. Y-You're confused and you don't know what you want, and, Elizabeth…" He trailed off, turning to face the dark seas and shaking his head once ruefully. "I can't stand around anymore and wait for you to chose me."

With that, he turned slowly and ambled back toward the house, his footsteps heavy on the cool sand.


	9. Safe Haven prt 9

**Part 9**

She sat there in stunned silence as his words ping-ponged around in her head. _I can't do this. You're confused, Elizabeth, and you don't know what you want…I can't stand around anymore and wait for you to choose me._

Elizabeth closed her eyes tightly, willing those words to go away. She exhaled deeply, her hands clenched into fists in her lap, and his voice seemed to fade. But as it did, her own words came floating back to remind her of their conversation.

_I don't know how to tell you what it meant, Jason, to wake up and see you next to me…Jason, you need to know something. I don't want to be with Lucky anymore._

Her eyes flew open, staring blankly out at the dark waves. Had she really said that? Just like that?

Elizabeth blinked, thinking back to those words again. _I don't want to be with Lucky anymore._ She made it sound almost…easy when she said that. Like it was…a clean break.

Despite the turmoil of emotions within her, Elizabeth smiled at that. A clean break. That was exactly what it was. There was a time when she would never have dreamed of saying those words; a time when Lucky meant everything to her. But the times had changed, and she wasn't that person anymore. She wasn't the girl that needed desperately to hang onto the first love of her life. And the most obvious proof of that was the fact that she could actually _say_ that she didn't want to be with him anymore.

_I don't want to be with Lucky anymore._

Again, it made her smile. She bit down on her lip, not knowing why she felt a sudden rush of excitement and ease, and then decided that she didn't care in the least. It was a good feeling – she felt absolutely ethereal. Transcendent. Like at that moment, there was nothing that could hold her back. She felt free. She felt alive. She felt _happy_.

And all of a sudden, all that happiness came crashing down around her as another thought entered her mind, making her frown in disbelief. She had said it. She had _said _it, clear as crystal.

"I don't want to be with Lucky anymore," she repeated to herself, just as a test. Yup, she had definitely said it.

Then what the hell was Jason's goddmn problem!

She had stated plain as day that she didn't want to be with Lucky; that she was done with that part of her life and that she didn't want to revisit it because there was absolutely nothing left to revisit. She had practically spelled out in big bold letters tattooed to her forehead that she was cutting Lucky loose and was available now – for him. Did Jason honestly not understand that _that_ was where she was going? Did he really not get that while she didn't want Lucky, she _did_ want _him_? Was the man really that dense?

Her lips twisted downward into a deep scowl. _Damn that clueless neanderthal._

Without another thought, she leapt up from the blanket and harshly jerked her sheer white sarong around her body, tying it in a haphazard and tight knot. Her footsteps were heavy on the sand next to the ones Jason had left as Elizabeth stomped toward the house, determined to give the ape inside it a piece of her mind.

The other guards that sometimes patrolled the grounds looked over in surprise as Elizabeth, dressed in her skimpy white bikini with a sarong wrapped _low_ around her waist, strode onto the back porch past the white porch swing. Her lips were set in a thin, determined line as she fairly pounded her way across the floorboards and seized the door handle in her small hand.

Paco was sitting at the island in the kitchen sipping grapefruit juice and reading a Spanish magazine when Elizabeth thundered into the house, jerking the screen door open wildly and letting it slam behind her. He stared openly as she stomped by, but the petite brunette didn't even spare her friend a second glance as she made a beeline for Jason's office.

She shoved the heavy wooden door open and burst into the quiet room where Jason worked. The enforcer was seated at his desk and Trey was standing in front of him, one hand on his hip and the other gesturing into the air in an abstract fashion.

"I'm telling you, Jason, if you-"

"Trey."

Both men started in surprise and gaped at Elizabeth as the brunette stood with her hands on her hips in the doorway, her figure outlined by the bright golden light from the kitchen.

"Get out."

The doctor frowned at her, his hand still frozen in mid-gesture. "What? Kid-"

"Trey – Get. Out." The doctor didn't move and Elizabeth scowled, stalking forward angrily. "Now!"

Jason stared at the petite brunette beauty as the bewildered doctor did as he was told, exiting the room quickly and letting the door close behind him. With the peanut gallery taken care of, Elizabeth set her sights on the stunned man in front of her.

The older man could only blink as she thundered toward him, her hips moving in a hard, determined rhythm and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Her eyes were stony and yet smoldering, and her full, ripe lips were set in a resolute pout. And before Jason could even say anything, she had passed his desk and was turning his rolling chair around to face her.

Every muscle in his body froze the instant her hand clasped him behind the neck, and Jason was certain he had lost his grip on reality when she lifted one leg and climbed into his lap, straddling him.

Fire shot through his nerve endings when her other hand cupped his chin fiercely as she tilted his face up to hers, and Jason's shocked cerulean orbs met her grimly determined ones. She was dressed in a stark white bikini that revealed her heaving breasts, and her sarong had parted to reveal one supple thigh that was now pressed intimately against his jean-clad one. Espresso locks cascaded forward as she pressed closer, and her eyes were narrowed into lethal slits as she locked her gaze with his.

"Jason Morgan," she growled, her fingers under his chin digging slightly into his jaw. "You are _such_ an idiot."

And then she kissed him.

Her mouth was hot on his as Elizabeth arched her back and pressed her thighs together against Jason's legs, holding the man firmly in place and not seeming to mind that he was too stunned to respond. Her full, ripe lips claimed his fiercely as her nimble fingers speared roughly through his wild spikes. Jason groaned loudly when she nipped on his lower lip and then swiped it with her tongue, soothing the sting.

The enforcer's hands, poised loosely over the armrests of his chair, trembled when Elizabeth's fingers wrapped around his neck as she coaxed him forward to meet her demands. Her lips fluttered against his now swollen ones, and Jason let out a soft gasp for air. That was all the opportunity Elizabeth needed to thrust her tongue past his lips and into the warm recesses of his mouth, plundering it with surprising savagery.

Jason's head was spinning as she continued her merciless assault. Elizabeth dropped her hands from his neck and smoothed them enticingly down his strong arms to his hands, clasping his larger ones in hers. She twined their fingers and squeezed gently before guiding them to her hips, where she let him go and cupped his face once more.

The blood hummed through Jason's veins as her tongue mated with his. She drew him into her mouth and he had a chance to taste her, and then she was pulling him to the edge by sucking his tongue. The hands that clasped her hips now tightened, the long, blunt fingers digging into the soft skin exposed just above her flimsy sarong and bikini bottom.

She pulled back and Jason was left gasping for air, and then her lips were on his again. She dropped several kisses on his lips, never letting herself deepen them, and the constant shift from the cool air to her hot mouth instantly brought Jason to the brink of insanity.

"Elizabeth-" Her lips brushed his innocently, in the softest of caresses and her delicate fingers stroked the golden hair at his temples.

"Mmm?"

He pulled her bottom lip into his mouth and sucked hard once but then she pulled back again, her nose bumping against his as she took a minute to nuzzle against him.

"Elizabeth, what are we-"

He didn't have a chance to finish the question when her small, pink tongue swiped between his lips, just the tip entering his mouth. One broad hand spanned the small of her back, trying to pull her closer even as Jason fought to recall every reason for not doing so.

"We can't-"

She grinned against his mouth, and her nose rubbed against his. One small hand raced down from the heated flesh of his neck to his chest, and Elizabeth held it there against his pounding heart, relishing the beat.

"This isn't-"

Elizabeth kissed the corner of his mouth, a sweet little peck that stole his breath away for a moment.

"We have to talk-"

She kissed the other corner of his mouth, her fingers splaying out over his heart, and Jason could feel the rumble of laughter in her chest.

"Elizabeth, listen to me-"

The spirited brunette pecked him square in the center of his lips, smiling sweetly against them. "I'm listening, Jason."

His arms tightened around her waist and he pulled her forward briskly, letting her soft body rest flush against his hard one. All thought flew from his head the instant her firm breasts flattened against his chest, and Jason could feel himself trembling underneath her.

"We-"

The pad of her thumb brushed his lips lightly, and Elizabeth peppered his cheek with dozens of tiny kisses, ending at his ear and pulling the lobe into her mouth. Jason moaned loudly and arched his back, rising almost out of the chair as she sucked hard. The motion surprised Elizabeth, who didn't have that much confidence in her affect on him and was just playing it all by ear – literally and figuratively – and she braced her small hands on his broad shoulders as he rocked forward.

"Elizabeth, can you-"

Her fingers petted the light golden hair at his nape and Elizabeth's hot mouth traveled from his ear down to his throat. All the blood in his body rushed south as she kissed and nipped and sucked at the sensitive flesh, and Jason fought to regain control. He had absolutely _no_ idea what was going on – one minute they were on the beach and he was sentencing himself to a life without her. And the very next, she was in his arms doing wonderful things to his body. How they got from Point A to Point B, he'd never know – especially if she kept that up.

She had deposited several sweet butterfly kisses on his neck when she felt him fidget beneath her. "Oh, God." Elizabeth smiled at the sound of his voice – he sounded so out-of-control, on the brink of insanity – and pressed her lips to the strong line of his jaw. "Elizabeth, we really have to talk-"

"No talking," she whispered against his lips, her sapphire orbs smoldering when he sucked in a quick breath. "Don't think, Jason – just feel."

He shuddered when she met him for a hot, lingering open-mouthed kiss, beyond surprised when he heard himself let a soft whimper escape. What he was begging for, he didn't know – an end to the torture, or perhaps an escalation.

Her tongue tickled his, and Jason fought to rein his thoughts back in. This was…wrong. There was too much up in the air for them to do this. His limbs tightened as he steeled himself, and Jason forced up the most unsavory name he could think up.

"But Elizabeth, what about…L-Lucky?"

She pulled back just enough to look him straight in the eye, and Jason was taken aback by the intensity and honesty smoldering in her midnight blue eyes. "I don't want Lucky. I just want you."

"But-"

"I want _you_, Jason."

And surprisingly, it was as simple as that. Never in their relationship had anything been simple, and Jason had accepted that long ago. It was what made him suspicious of any new development between them because he knew it would be fraught with uncertainty and angst – everything always was.

But he couldn't deny the certainty in her voice. And he couldn't deny the way it filled something deep inside him, something that had been empty for a long time. She wanted _him_. Above Lucky, she wanted _him_.

The knowledge of that made him almost light-headed, and when Elizabeth leaned in for another sultry kiss, Jason was powerless to do anything but sit there and let her kiss him senseless. She was still pressed against him from the waist up, perched a little higher up on his body, so thankfully, she didn't feel the beginnings of his arousal. And for that, Jason was exceedingly grateful. His hands molded to the delicate curve of her back as her lips brushed against his, holding her tight and refusing to let go.

After all this time…he finally had her.

Elizabeth pulled back when she ran out of air, and Jason got the delight of gazing at her swollen, glistening lips and watching that rosy blush creep into her cheeks. Her eyes were dark and sizzling, and her hair was mussed and cascading into her face. Tenderly, he reached up and swept it back, tangling his fingers in the silky espresso locks and holding her close.

He watched as her bee-stung lips curved into a smile, and couldn't help suppress the small one that crept onto his as well. "What's so funny?"

She gazed down at him, finding no reason to doubt what he felt for her as she watched the emotions swirl together in his piercing cerulean eyes. She'd never allowed herself to enjoy it before, but the fact of the matter was, it warmed her heart the way Jason looked at her – like she was the most important thing in the world, and that she'd vanish into a puff of air if he took his gaze away.

Her hands cupped his face lovingly, and she leaned forward to press yet another kiss – this time of affirmation – to his lips. When she pulled back, Jason wrapped his arms tightly around her and she snuggled into his chest, her hand now pressed over his steadily beating heart.

"It's just…funny that I had to 'die' to remember how to live again."


	10. Safe Haven prt 10

* * *

**Safe Haven – prt 10 **

**Rated PG**

A week had passed since Elizabeth had stormed into Jason's laps, straddled him, and nearly kissed him senseless. The days on the island were filled with Betty's scrumptious meals, Paco's entertaining tales, long and lazy walks on the beach, and all sorts of other activities meant to keep Elizabeth entertained and happy.

But Elizabeth was miserable. And frustrated.

A week had passed since she had gone all dominatrix on Jason Morgan's shell-shocked ass, that was for sure, but not much progress had been made since then. They had a long discussion that night and they had both made it clear that they wanted to be with each other.

And when Jason had kissed her again after their talk, Elizabeth had expected it to turn into something more. Namely, she expected to find herself in his bed that night.

Instead, Jason had ended the kiss before it deepened and given her a long hug, and then they had both gone to bed – in their own bedrooms. And that was how it had been for the past six days. Jason would wake up early every morning and by the time Elizabeth got downstairs, he would be done with what little work he had to do and they'd both have breakfast together. Sometimes Paco would join them, and sometimes he would be out on the island taking care of his own responsibilities. After that, they'd spend the day either on the beach or in town when Trey had agreed that Elizabeth was well enough for those excursions. Evening would settle upon them before long and they'd have dinner together inside and then they'd troop out to the white porch swing where they'd remain until Elizabeth started yawning and Jason decided it was time to go to sleep.

He always walked her up to her room and kissed her outside of it, holding her close but not too close, and then he'd slowly walk to his own room and close the door behind him. There had been a couple times when they had been kissing and it had gone farther than Jason had apparently intended, because the older man would always pull himself away. They hadn't discussed it at all and Jason certainly hadn't made any moves on his own.

And Elizabeth was reaching her wits' end with him – and had decided that it was time to take matters into her own hands once more. She contemplated straddling him in the office again, but with different results this time, naturally.

Paco and Trey were in town with the other guards and Betty had already gone to her own residence, leaving just the two of them home alone. The sun was setting on the ocean, painting it a brilliant shade of shimmery orange-gold, and its waning light colored the plain walls of the beach house.

Elizabeth descended the wooden staircase barefoot, enjoying the feel of the cool hardwood underneath her feet. Jason was nowhere in sight – she had searched all of the upstairs rooms and had found them empty. She had tried his room first and, irked by the utter tidiness of it, had taken care to subtly misplace certain things and muss other things just to show him that yes, damn it, she _had _been in his bedroom.

Betty had left a lemon-meringue pie on the island in the kitchen as she usually did – she knew how much Elizabeth loved to have something sweet right before going to sleep, although the older woman had kind of figured that even more than the sweets, the little brunette would much rather have had a certain blonde enforcer right before going to sleep.

The sexual tension in the house – and Jason's almost desperate attempts to sweep it under the rug – had not gone unnoticed by the guards that frequented the sprawling beach house. Seth and George – who weren't as familiar with Elizabeth as Trey and Paco were – had picked up on it and questioned their older friends. Paco had made some sinister remarks but had clammed up the instant his boss walked in through the door. Trey, however, wasn't as well-behaved and was utterly relentless with his sniggering comments muttered under his breath so that Elizabeth wouldn't hear. Jason didn't know what to do with the man, so he took great care to avoid his old friend the doctor for as long as he could.

The younger guards had asked Betty for her take on the matter as well, but the older woman sensibly kept her mouth shut, not wanting to intrude on whatever was going on between her little culinary companion and her employer. Instead, she bustled around and fairly buried Jason and Elizabeth with food – her own remedy for the issue.

Elizabeth slid onto the stool at the island and grazed some whipped cream off the top of the pie with her index finger. Betty was a fabulous cook, and she was sure she had gained at least ten pounds from her vacation on the island. That had only pleased the matron, though, who had claimed from the first day that Elizabeth looked sickly thin. In fact, Betty had been so pleased with Elizabeth's growing appetite after the poisoning that in her excitement she had made the mistake of asking her boss if Miss Webber didn't look wonderful, "the way she's been filling out". Elizabeth had blushed and averted her gaze while a similarly flushed Jason had stammered out that she looked wonderful, indeed.

After doing her best to build her willpower and refuse the tempting pie, Elizabeth admitted defeat and got up to serve herself a piece. And as she ate, her thoughts turned to the man who had apparently pulled a Houdini on her.

That stupid, stupid man.

She sighed and swept up a glob of whipped cream from her plate with her index finger, staring at it as she contemplated the best way to address their tender situation. Should she try to talk to him like a rational human being and explain to him carefully that she trusted him and trusted their relationship and honestly believed they were ready to take it to the next level?

A smirk curved her full lips as she absently stared at the whipped cream on her finger. Seriously, when had she ever been mistaken for a rational person?

That idea having been scrapped, Elizabeth turned to other promising ones. Should she storm into his office, straddle him once more – although that might have lost its surprise effect – and go from there? Should she lure him into her room at night? Should she strip to her bra and panties and tuck herself away in his bed that night before he got in?

She shook her head, glaring with frustration at the thick glob of whipped cream that still sat perched on the tip of her index finger. Whatever she did, she had to be damn sure it would work. Because whether he liked it or not, Jason Morgan _would_ be deflowered tonight.

The thought made her laugh sadistically – _deflowered_. It was suddenly the funniest word she knew. Yup, he'd be deflowered, unplucked, taken advantage of, made into a man – whatever euphemism she chose for it, there was no doubt as to what she wanted to do to him tonight.

In her laughter, Elizabeth didn't hear the soft footsteps that padded out of Jason's office, and she didn't see the enforcer enter the kitchen. Jason's cerulean orbs landed on the glob of cream on her finger and his eyes widened when the brunette beauty suddenly and without warning – for he would have appreciated one, to be sure – took it into her mouth, suckling it clean. A low groan escaped him when she delicately flicked the tip of her finger with her dainty tongue, and Jason hastily backed up into his office and disappeared form sight.

Still at her stool and utterly oblivious to what had just happened, Elizabeth swept up the last bite of her pie with her fork and pushed the plate away. Yup, Jason Morgan was definitely going to be tortured tonight for the way he tortured her. A body that…deliciously magnificent couldn't just be wasted like that. And especially not when she was in the vicinity! _Especially_ not when that body was practically hers for the…taking.

A wicked smirk pulled at her lips again: even her thoughts were laden with sexual innuendos. Excellent. She chuckled low in her throat, still shaking her head at her earlier thoughts.

"Deflowered."

Well, that settled it – the word was _still_ damn funny.

Jason Morgan leaned back in his chair at his desk and pinched the bridge of his nose as the crickets began their nighttime symphony in the tall grass outside the window.

He was screwed.

The past week had been even more difficult than he had imagined. A whole week of being with Elizabeth, touching Elizabeth, kissing Elizabeth, and never letting it go further than innocent hand-holding and a few open-mouthed kisses. He didn't know how long he could hold himself back – especially when she turned him on without even meaning to.

The image of her flicking her fingertip with her tongue still fresh in his mind, Jason straightened in his seat and frantically tried to divert his thoughts to something else. He didn't have any work left to do for the day, and the only things on his desk was a white envelope that had been brought to him an hour ago and one of his old travel books.

It was the book about Italy, one of his favorites, and he had stuffed it into a duffel bag along with a change of clothes the minute Sonny had called him about Elizabeth. He had tried to read it on the plane but was too wound up to keep his eyes on the words that he had all but memorized a long time ago. When he learned of her condition he had figured that he could read it to her while she slept, but that hadn't happened. The book remained a constant fixture in his office and had been lying open on the desktop the night Elizabeth had burst into his office with her heart on her sleeve.

And in the past week, it had been a constant fixture in his bedroom. Every night after he kissed her goodnight, Jason would trek into his room and read from the worn pages until he fell asleep. It kept his thoughts safely occupied and off of the petite brunette lying in bed just a few doors down.

His rough fingertips skimmed the edge of the book and Jason idly picked it up. Sighing deeply, he let his mind wander to the day he'd given her the red glass. He had told her about the Pallio then – the old horse race run in Vienna every single year. There were so many things about Italy – things even mentioned in the pages of his favorite old travel book – that he wanted to share with her. And the memory of what she'd said to him that day – _"Jason, when I imagine seeing Italy, I imagine seeing it with you" _– led him to hope that she wanted to share them with him, too.

The book had been in his hand when he had raced up the stairs in the beach house to Elizabeth's bedroom after learning she'd ingested poison; he had let George worry about his duffel bag but had taken the book himself. He wouldn't soon forget the sheer panic that had filled him when he realized what she had done – when he had realized that at one point, the possibility that he'd never see her again had been a very real one.

They had missed too much. Left too much unsaid. Danced around too much.

Jason let the book drop to the desk with a loud _thwack!_ and reached for the white envelope. He fingered the thick paper, still lost in his silent reverie. Elizabeth meant too much to him – he couldn't lose her again. After all that they had faced, all that they had gotten through, he just couldn't let her go again. The fact that she wanted to be with him – _him_ – was still so incredible that Jason wasn't sure he believed it completely. After three years of friendship and more-than-friendship, tears and fights, "see you later"s and then the final "goodbye", it was just too good to be true.

Part of him still wondered what would happen when the Spencer/Cassidine war was over and Elizabeth could safely return home. He didn't even want to think about what her first encounter with Lucky after so long would be like. Would she change her mind? Would she decide she had judged too hastily and that she still loved the little shitpot?

Jason's brows furrowed and he glowered at the envelope. He didn't even want to _go_ there.

But the fact remained that there was no telling what would happen when they returned to Port Charles. Everyone would start in on her immediately – they always did – and he had no idea what Elizabeth would do. He hated to hold it against her, but she _had_ waffled back and forth repeatedly between him and Lucky, and he didn't want to go through that again. It would be better to walk away immediately than to have to wait for her to choose him again.

Jason brought the envelope to his lips, berating himself sharply. He was getting ahead of himself – thinking in what if's – and he just didn't do that. Reminding himself firmly to stay in the present and trust Elizabeth, he slid the envelope into the travel book and opened his right hand drawer. He had to move a small box out of the way before he could fit the book in, and had just closed it when Elizabeth walked into his office.

He looked up at her, his eyes drifting from her feathery curls to the pink tube top she wore with the little white capris that sat low on her waist and flashed a generous amount of her toned calves. Damn. He was screwed.

"Hey."

A smile tugged at the corner of her nude lips. "Hey, yourself."

Jason's eyes darted from her slender form to the door and back as Elizabeth sauntered forward slowly toward him, looking every bit the sleek lioness in search of her prey. He would have chalked it all up to his libido had the seductive gleam in the brunette's midnight blue eyes not given her away – the damn woman knew _exactly_ what she was doing. She had him cornered and she knew it.

Jason struggled to clear his throat as she rounded the corner of his desk, her doe-like eyes never leaving his. But try as he might, the words just refused to form and Jason sat there in stunned silence as a familiar feeling of _deja vous _washed over him.

Elizabeth, smirking mischievously, slowly raised one shapely leg and crawled into his lap, letting the rough denim of his jeans brush against the soft skin of her smooth legs. She settled comfortably there, letting one hand fall on his broad shoulder as the other brushed through the soft golden hair at his temple. Her voice when she spoke was low and rusty, a sultry murmur in the damp night air. "You wouldn't be hiding from me in here, Morgan, would you?"

The thumb of the hand that was on his shoulder began to sweep hypnotically over the sensitive and heated flesh of his neck and Jason struggled to find some words, finally settling on one. "N-No."

"Oh," she nodded to herself with a small smile, leaning closer and letting her flat stomach rest against his hard one. "That's good." Her nose bumped against his but Elizabeth made no move of apology as she rested her forehead against his. "I haven't seen you much today, you know."

Her hand smoothed down his chest and she splayed her fingers over his suddenly pounding heart. Jason swallowed noisily, trying to think past the roaring rush of blood in his ears. "I-I had some work to do today."

"Mm," she murmured, letting her nose brush against the shell of his ear as she tenderly pressed a soft kiss to his earlobe. "I missed you."

Jason sucked in a sharp breath the instant her lips found the soft flesh of his lobe, and his hand tightened around the armrest of his chair. "Elizabeth-" All rational thought flew from his head when she pressed her lips to the pulse point in his neck, then to his strong jaw. "Oh, fuck."

She laughed, a soft, rustling noise, and raised her head to look him dead in the eye. The amusement he found in the sapphire orbs made him want to curse some more. "You've got a dirty mouth, Morgan." Jason's heart skipped a beat when those enticing blue eyes dropped to his lips and before he could say a word, their mouths met.

His control suffered a fierce blow the minute her lips claimed his. Elizabeth's tongue made quick work of parting his lips and slithering in to engage his in a sensual duel. She was a fierce kisser, he had realized, and kissed him as if she were asserting her ownership over him – not that he minded.

He was shocked at how quickly his body responded to her until he realized that he really shouldn't be. The beginnings of his obvious arousal didn't bother Elizabeth at all; the petite brunette wasn't embarrassed and certainly didn't back off.

His fingers delved under the soft material of her pink tube top without his permission and before long, both hands were underneath the stretchy fabric. Her creamy skin was hot underneath his rough palms and it took everything Jason had not to rip the top from her body at that instant.

Elizabeth's hands were in his hair and the petite brunette was very intent on getting what she wanted. She arched her back like a cat, thrusting her pert breasts against the hard muscles of his chest. Jason moaned, torn between his urge to pull away and his urge to scoop her up and drop her on the couch across the room so he'd have better leverage. He was quite helpless as he was, pinned to his chair by her soft, warm body. And it was almost laughable how helpless he _felt_ when her small fingers brushed against his stomach as she pulled his shirt from the waistband of his jeans.

She stripped the cranberry-colored cotton off his body in one fluid motion, eager to get her hands on his burning flesh. Her fingers closed around his peaks as she lowered her mouth to his once more for another searing kiss that stole the air from his lungs. Her tube top had bunched up around her breasts, covering the mounds from Jason's view, but the flushed skin of her taut stomach was visible and easily accessible. The enforcer slid his rough palms over her stomach, smiling against her mouth when she quivered and let out a low whimper.

The tables turned when Elizabeth's mouth dropped to Jason's chest as she scattered several hot, open-mouthed kisses down the hard plane. The enforcer growled low in his throat and tangled his fingers in her hair, keeping her head where it was as Elizabeth worked her magic.

But the nagging doubts Jason had from earlier – the ones that stressed taking it slowly and making sure this was definite before forging on – remained in the back of his head, whispering quietly but unable to make themselves heard over the roar of the enforcer's passion. He was too far gone in the feeling of Elizabeth – her hands on his body, her mouth exploring the crevices between his defined muscles – to comprehend anything else. He'd waited for this for too long and at the moment, it was extremely difficult to remember why he should stop.

But when Elizabeth's fingers dipped under the waistband of his jeans, something felt wrong. When her fingertips brushed gently through the golden hair low on his body, something was off. And when her fingers pulled out to dislodge the button of his jeans, those nagging voices finally made themselves heard.

In a flash, Jason was jumping out of his seat. Elizabeth, who was in his lap, was startled by the quick movement and let out a yelp, but Jason scooped her up as he stood and then set her on the ground and backed away breathing hard.

A flushed Elizabeth swept a hand through her tousled chocolate locks, a look of pure disbelief and confusion on her face. Jason looked around for his shirt and, not finding it, gave up, choosing instead to torture her by standing there with the starlight twinkling on his gloriously tan body. Elizabeth stared at him in disbelief but Jason studiously avoided her gaze by renewing his quest to find the missing shirt, and finally the brunette had enough.

"Jason!" she burst out, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "What the hell just happened?"

"Elizabeth." The word was long and drawn out on a sigh as the enforcer rubbed a hand over his face. "We – I – we can't do this."

She stared at him as if he'd spoken in tongues. "What's that supposed to mean? Why the hell not?"

"Elizabeth-"

"Oh, no," she bit out, stalking forward with her finger pointing square at his chest in the most threatening manner she could assume. "Don't 'Elizabeth' me. I want to know exactly what happened and exactly why you claim it shouldn't happen."

He dropped his hands to his waist, slipping the thumbs into the belt loops and just stared at her. She was standing one pace away from him, her hair mussed, eyes dazed and starry, and her skin deliciously flushed. Jason didn't even realize that he'd slipped into a trance just staring at her until Elizabeth scowled at stalked forward.

Her slender fingers found the meaty flesh of his arm and she gave his bicep a harsh pinch, her frown only deepening when Jason flinched and recoiled. "Damn you, stop looking at me like that and answer the damn question!"

Jason numbly rubbed his arm, trying not to think about how close she was standing. "Elizabeth-"

"What did I say about 'Elizabeth'-ing me?" she demanded angrily, not caring that at the moment she sounded a little less than rational. "Jason, I don't see the problem here. We're two consenting adults, I've already been given a clean bill of health days ago, we said we would try-" Her eyes penetrated his as she helplessly dropped her hand to her side. "Jason, I already told you that I wanted you. Why is this so hard? – you know I want _you_."

The words left his mouth before he could even think to stop them. "Lucky doesn't know that."

That got to her. The brunette snapped her mouth shut, wide eyes just staring at him with a look of blatant disbelief. And as Jason held up his hands and stepped forward in an attempt to explain, she held up her own hand in acceptance. "I get it. That's what this is about." She backed away a step and Jason stopped. "You think I'll still go back to him."

He wanted to speak, to tell her that she was wrong, but he couldn't. And at that moment, the intercom on his desk rang and George's voice echoed in the room, announcing that Sonny was on the line and he was putting him through.

"_Jason? You there?"_

Elizabeth's dark eyes fell to the intercom device. "Unbelievable."

The voice on the other end faltered. _"E-Elizabeth?"_

The brunette didn't reply. She just crossed her arms defensively over her chest and backed away. Jason ran a hand helplessly through his hair and faced the device with a look of dejection on his face. "What, Sonny?"

"_Oh, I…I just called to let you both know that it's over. It's all over. Elizabeth can come home anytime she wants."_


	11. Safe Haven prt 11

**Note: **Oooh. Almost done. Hee hee.

**Safe Haven – prt 11**

Jason stared out the window, watching the inky black ocean glitter beneath them. The personal jet he and Sonny owned was equipped with all of the luxuries available to aircrafts, and yet Jason was still terribly uncomfortable.

The past few hours had been an absolute nightmare. Sonny had called him and Elizabeth while they were…Jason shook his head briskly, refusing to let his mind wander back to the events in his office for the millionth time and get all excited. He definitely didn't need that.

The news hadn't been what Jason was expecting. His best friend had told them, clear as crystal, over the telephone that the Spencer-Cassidine war was over. It had thrown Jason for a loop; he hadn't been expecting such a quick resolution. But the news was as it was, and it meant what Jason had been dreading: Elizabeth was free to return home.

He didn't know how the news was really affecting Elizabeth. The petite brunette had stared at the receiver with a face bland of all emotion as Sonny told her what had transpired. Stavros Cassidine had been alive, resurrected from a frozen state by his doting mother, and had been wreaking havoc on the citizens of Port Charles that had stood in his mother's path in the past.

And Jason had to watch, with his heart breaking at every word, as Elizabeth slowly recalled the night that she had run into Stavros Cassidine himself, face-to-face, on the docks. She hadn't looked at him at all then, just stared at the intercom as if she were talking directly to Sonny. She had dropped her purse and its contents had spilled all over the planks. An older man, impeccably dressed and neatly groomed, had stooped and helped her recover them, then told her that she shouldn't be out walking this late at night.

But Stavros Cassidine was dead now, having fallen into an abyss underneath General Hospital. Lucky had almost killed his father in the time that she had been gone from Port Charles, and Nikolas had finally come face to face with his own father. Jason recalled the tears that had sprung to Elizabeth's eyes when she reflected aloud to him and Sonny how shaken poor Nikolas must be.

Sonny didn't offer much more information and had been careful not to say more about Lucky than was absolutely necessary. And Elizabeth had taken it from there. With Sonny still on the extension, she had turned to Jason – who still hadn't had any luck finding his shirt – and announced in a deathly calm voice that they had to get back to Port Charles immediately. And with that, she had bid Sonny farewell and walked out of the office to pack.

Sonny had wanted to stay on the line and talk some more about the events back home but Jason had been compelled to take a rain check – after all, he _really_ needed a cold shower. The walk upstairs had been excruciatingly painful and he had passed Elizabeth's bedroom to see her duffel bag spread open on her bed and ready to be packed.

He had tried his best not to think about it as he showered. When he emerged half an hour later, his fingers wrinkly and his limbs tight from the frigid water, Elizabeth was still packing. She was doing it methodically, slowly, often pulling items out and rearranging them more conveniently. He had leaned against the threshold of the door and just watched her, but she had been very involved in the task at hand. When she finally noticed that he was there, she looked up and asked him if he wasn't going to pack as well.

Neatly dismissed, Jason had no choice but to trudge back to his own bedroom and pull his own duffel bag out of his closet. He was a light traveler and didn't have nearly as many things to arrange and rearrange in the bag as Elizabeth did. They both finished packing and emerged from their respective bedrooms at approximately the same time, leaving Jason feeling very awkward. He recalled shuffling his feet nervously against the carpet as Elizabeth stood not two paces away, but then Paco had appeared and solemnly informed them that Betty thought they should eat something more before they left.

The bodyguard and Betty were both sorry to see Elizabeth go; that much was apparent from the last supper. Both of them, along with Jason, ate slowly and picked at their food as if by prolonging their meal they wouldn't have to separate. Elizabeth, however, quickly shoveled her dinner into her mouth, focused only on the mission that lay before her: getting back to Port Charles. She was a racehorse with blinkers on, and missed the disappointed set of Paco's shoulders and the little frown Betty wore.

It was quite late when they finished and rose from the table, and it was beginning to show on Elizabeth. She would yawn every few minutes despite trying her hardest not to. She'd rub at her eyes, as if trying to rouse herself, and her fatigued behavior was worrying Jason.

Finally, and much to her displeasure, he suggested that they both take a few hours to sleep before making the trip. Elizabeth only agreed when Paco patiently explained to her that there had been delays with the jet and that it wasn't ready for take-off yet, so she might as well get some sleep and be well-rested for her return home.

Thus placated, Elizabeth slipped upstairs to her bedroom without so much as a second glance at Jason. They had both retired to bed and awoken a few hours later. The plane was ready and so was their luggage. Jason had exchanged a few words with the bodyguards on duty while Elizabeth had hugged Paco and Betty goodbye. Then they had boarded the plane, on their way back to Port Charles.

And that was where they were now. Jason was seated on the couch by himself, looking out at the water, and Elizabeth was asleep on the white loveseat on the opposite side of the plane. Her small body was curled up in a defensive position, her arm hanging off the side of the little sofa, and her silky hair had fallen in her face. Her lips were parted slightly in her sleep and she would occasionally mumble something about pink poodles and flying bunnies.

Jason watched her enviously from his seat _wayyyyy_ on the other side of the plane. She looked so beautiful and perfect, and all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and make her understand….make her understand what? Why he had pulled away from her? She knew that as well as he did – he didn't want to bed her while Lucky still thought she was his. That was something Jason just couldn't bring himself to do, no matter how deeply his feelings for her ran. Because even though they had admitted that they wanted to be together, they hadn't discussed anything further than that. And when he took Elizabeth to bed, he wanted to be sure that both of them knew it was about more than just sex.

But she didn't see it that way, and Jason didn't blame her. Tortured by the sight of her sleeping innocently right in front of him, looking every bit the fallen angel, Jason shucked his shoes and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes and trying to lull himself to sleep. At least while he was sleeping, he wouldn't be tortured by thoughts of them.

The flight was peaceful and uneventful, more than conducive to sleep and slowly Jason slipped away into a deep slumber. On the other side of the jet, Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes and peeked at him. He was sprawled back on the couch, still looking terribly uncomfortable. His features were strained and tight and he looked as if something were haunting him.

Sighing, Elizabeth shifted on the loveseat. She had a pretty good idea of what that something was.

He was so beautiful when he slept. She didn't even bother to stop her eyes from grazing over his entire magnificent form from the tips of his spiky golden hair to the toes of his feet, clad in navy blue socks. Elizabeth sighed again and tucked her hair behind the shell of her ear.

She knew that this wasn't easy for him. For that matter, it wasn't easy for her either. But if she really stretched her imagination, she could get an idea of what Jason was going through right now. He had been honest with her in his office back on the island – it had hurt, but he had been telling her the truth regardless. And if she really forced herself to admit it, he was right. Emily was right. They both had reminded her that she didn't have the greatest track record when it came to Lucky and Jason.

She had waffled back and forth too many times; she had hurt Jason too deeply. Should she really be surprised, then, that he was so insecure when it came to her? The thought almost made her smile – the mighty Jason Morgan, insecure about where he stood with a skinny little girl that liked to ramble.

Her eyes drifted to his face, the proud nose, the strong, angular jaw, the aristocratic cheekbones. More than anything, she wanted to go back to that time and make things right. To fix things so that Jason wasn't so conflicted and torn and angry.

Slowly, she pushed herself up from the sofa and shuffled quietly to the cabinet in the back. It took her a minute to find a blanket and when her fingers found a soft blue one, she slowly made her way back to Jason. She gently peeled off his socks and stuck them in his boots and spread the blanket over him, tucking it under his chin. Done, she wandered back to her own loveseat and flopped down on it again.

Somehow, she would make things right for Jason.

A sick, heavy feeling settled in the pit of Jason's stomach as he stood at the top of the steps leading down from the jet.

They had arrived.

His bike was waiting for him; he had to make a trip to Sonny's before anything else to discuss business. Nearby, a limousine was waiting for Elizabeth, the driver having been instructed to take the young woman wherever she wanted to go.

A muscle ticked in Jason's jaw as he fought off a sudden and unexpected wave of nausea. Never in his life had he wanted so badly to be somewhere else. Anywhere else – Egypt, Morocco, Paris…Italy. Anywhere but here.

Elizabeth was moving around behind him, pulling on a light cardigan to ward off the early morning chill. Jason's heart beat painfully in his chest, reminding him all to bluntly that this could be the last time he was alone with Elizabeth. She could easily run into the arms of Lucky Spencer after his little stunt back on the island and never look back. And then he'd be all alone again; she'd have passed him over for another man for the second time. And this time, Jason doubted that he could get over it anywhere near as quickly as he had the first time.

He felt a flutter of movement behind him, and then her sweet scent of lilies and honey enveloped him. Heart heavy in his chest, Jason moved slowly to the side to allow her access to the stairs that would lead her back into the life she had abandoned two short weeks ago. More than anything, he wanted to spin around, wrap his arms around her and kiss her until neither of them could breathe. He knew it was a selfish, possessive wish but he didn't care – he wanted to feel her sweet lips under his and give her one more reason, however carnal and primitive, to choose him.

But his limbs felt like lead as she appeared at his side, pulling her sunglasses out of her pocket as she surveyed the calm sky. The beginning rays of the sunrise were starting to grace Port Charles, and she knew she'd need her shades soon. Wordlessly, she looked out at the waiting motorcycle – his – and the waiting limousine – hers. This was it. She had to go down there and face everything that she had escaped. There was no running away this time.

But the remarkable thing was that none of it scared her. She didn't know what she was going to say when she saw Lucky, but she wasn't afraid to tell him that she couldn't be with him anymore, that she loved someone else. It didn't scare her the way it should have.

But the one thing that did make her heart hurt was the anguish radiating in waves off of Jason's strong body. He was hurting, and it was because of her. He had no idea what would happen the minute she descended those steps and his refusal to move showed that on some level, he was doing everything he could to keep that moment of uncertainty and loss from arriving.

She couldn't leave without taking care of him first.

Her small hand, cool and soft, reached out and touched his arm. Shaken at the physical contact, Jason quickly looked down at her. Elizabeth gazed up at him openly, hoping that he could see in her eyes everything that she couldn't put into words at the moment. Letting her hand slowly travel to the base of his neck, she timidly tugged him forward.

Jason didn't have any idea what was going on but the older man was powerless to resist her innocent pull. His startled blue eyes darted between her cool and calm ones as his heart raced. And before he knew it, Elizabeth's lips were pressed sweetly to his.

She kissed him softly, cherishingly, letting him know in that one simple coupling of lips that it would be all right. Jason's heart raged in his chest and he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight. He wanted everyone in this damn town to know that _he_ wanted her and this time, no psychotic little kid with boy-band highlights was going to keep him from the woman of his dreams.

Elizabeth pulled back before he could deepen the kiss and stared fondly into his confused and stormy eyes. "You can be a real idiot sometimes, Jason Morgan," she whispered, sweeping her thumb through the soft hair at his nape. "But that doesn't change how much I love you."

He could have sworn that his heart stopped beating right then and there.

The brunette beauty allowed her lips to whisper across his once more before she pulled away and slowly turned, walking regally down the stairs to the waiting limousine below. It was time to do away with everything in her past that threatened her future.


	12. Safe Haven prt 12

**Note**: OK, so I definitely wasn't planning on having smut at the end of this story, but now I feel bad for having all this buildup and not intending to follow-through on it. Plus, Hannah threatened me. Thanks as always for your feedback – I absolutely love reading all your responses.

Oh, and one more thing! I totally share your joy at what Elizabeth said last chapter. The girl sure knows what to say when there's really nothing to say. Hooray! And I swear there's a point in this story where I literally had to stop laughing because I was so happy. Tears threatened, guys – I'm not gonna lie.

* * *

**Safe Haven – prt 12**

Francis Corelli was humming something under his breath – some Italian love ballad, maybe _Al-di-la_ – and Elizabeth found the older bodyguard's voice very soothing as the two of them ambled slowly through the park in the early morning. Francis had been concealed behind the tinted windows of the limo when Elizabeth had gotten in and she almost couldn't believe her eyes when his glittering gray eyes met hers.

He had inquired of her health and other relatively trivial things, not wanting to touch the more important subjects – the status of her relationship with his boss, her arrival in the small town two weeks after her staged death and all that good stuff. And Elizabeth was grateful for Francis' tact; she wasn't sure what she would have said in reply to his questions had he asked them.

And now the two of them were walking through the park as the early rays of sunshine kissed away the dewdrops from the lush green foliage. Elizabeth had already called Nikolas and the Cassidine Prince had been overjoyed to hear from her again and had immediately requested that she come over to Kelly's to have breakfast with him immediately.

Francis' arm was wrapped comfortingly around her shoulder and Elizabeth rested her head lightly against his solid frame. She could hardly believe she was back in Port Charles. Two weeks had passed – a literal period of life and death for her – and yet the small town still looked the same. She didn't know what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. Walking through the park with her favorite bodyguard – it was as if she had never left. It just didn't feel right: so much had changed for her in the two short weeks since she boarded Sonny's yacht, and yet Port Charles remained frustratingly unchanged.

She sighed softly, her thoughts drifting back to what had happened between her and Jason on the plane. The corner of her mouth twitched when she realized that if she tried, she could still feel his lips against hers. He had looked so inconsolable and resigned that kissing him and blurting out that she was in love with him were all that she could think to do. But she didn't regret it; she did, however, regret not telling him sooner.

Did he believe her?

It was a question that had plagued her ever since she slid onto the leather seat of the limo, a question that lurked behind the bright smile she had offered Francis. A question that still shadowed her with its possible answer.

She should have stayed and found out for herself right then and there what Jason felt when she told him that. That was the only way she would have known, and it would have been worlds better than walking idly through the park and torturing herself with the uncertainty of it all.

She wouldn't blame him if he didn't believe her. Hell, she wouldn't even blame him if he didn't feel same. But Elizabeth knew that she had said her peace and that the chips were now free to fall where they would; there was nothing she could do about it anymore.

Trying to push the nagging doubts out of her head for good, Elizabeth leaned into Francis' side and concentrated on his soft singing, knowing that as soon as she found Nikolas – and inevitably, Lucky – and explained herself, the sooner she could get back to Jason.

* * *

"Jason."

Sonny Corinthos was all smiles when the door opened and his best friend stepped into the penthouse. The mobster looked casual in his pressed slacks and white oxford shirts with the sleeves folded up, and the large grin he wore compelled Jason to smile weakly back.

"Hey, Sonny." Jason clasped Sonny's extended hand in his own and wasn't surprised when the older man pulled him into a hug, clapping him on the back. It had been months since they had seen each other last and although hardly a day went by that they didn't talk over the phone, it was still good to come home and see his best friend face-to-face again. "I brought the papers-"

"The hell with the papers," Sonny interrupted good-naturedly, taking the manila folders from Jason's hand and tossing them carelessly onto the desk. "How are you, Jason?"

There was no mistaking the genuine brotherly concern and happiness in Sonny's obsidian eyes and Jason wearily rubbed the back of his neck. "Fine. Where's Carly?"

His best friend allowed the careful change in subject. "She spent the night at the Brownstone with Bobbie and Lucas – took Michael with her. We had dinner there last night and Carly wanted to stay. I had some work to finish so I came home, but I'm supposed to go back there later today."

Jason was nodding slowly. "How are they doing?"

"Good," Sonny sighed, the relief apparent in his voice. "Good. They're doing good. They're all just so relieved that the threat is over – that Lucky i-isn't being brain-washed anymore." Sonny was kicking himself the minute he accidentally let Lucky's name slip from his mouth, and the mobster didn't miss the way Jason flinched instinctively at the mention. "Lucas recovered just fine, and…what can I say? Everything's finally out in the open. Stephan's been cleared of Chloe's murder – Alexis was so relieved. Let's see…Cassidine's back with Taggert's sister and he's heading up the family business now. Everything's returning to normal." He nodded solemnly, running a hand through his black curls. "And that's good – we can all finally get back to 'normal'. Whatever that's supposed to be."

Jason smirked. "Yeah."

"So," Sonny started, licking his lips. "Elizabeth's in town now, right?"

His best friend nodded. "I sent her with Francis. She has some things she needs to do." With that, Jason slowly shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it on to the couch on his way over to the wet bar.

Across the room, Sonny was grinning at the brief answer regarding Elizabeth. "I have a pretty good guess what those things might be," he mused aloud, his obsidian eyes glittering. "It was a long time coming, let me tell you that much."

Jason didn't so much as blink at that as he quickly gulped down a glass of bourbon and let the liquid burn a fiery trail down his throat and chest. The mobster frowned and watched his friend fill the glass up again. Given the fact that Elizabeth was probably currently telling Luke Spencer's psychotic son that he could stick it where the sun didn't shine, Jason didn't seem nearly as happy as Sonny imagined he'd be. After all, he was finally on the verge of getting the woman of his dreams. She was cutting her ball and chain loose, severing the oppressive ties of her past, and there was nothing standing in Jason's way.

Except his own insecurities.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Sonny shuffled forward. He didn't know how to have this conversation with his best friend; they didn't exactly crack open a bottle of wine and discuss the state of their loves lives – ever. And he wasn't sure that given his track record with Jason's women, that he had any right to open his fat mouth.

But as Jason gulped down the bourbon again and growled low in his throat as it burned its way down, Sonny's concern got the best of him.

"Jason?" His expensive Italian shoes shuffled against the thick carpet. "This is good, right?" His best friend didn't even spare him a glance. "I mean, Elizabeth's probably at Kelly's or the boxcar right now…" Still nothing. "She's going to tell Lucky that it's over, right? Isn't that what she's going to say?"

Jason remained silent and motionless, his fingers closing tightly around the glass he held.

Sonny's shoulders slumped as the only possible explanation for Jason's behavior hit him: it _wasn't_ over between Lucky and Elizabeth. Despite all that Jason had done for her, she still chose Luke's deranged son over his best friend. She had broken Jason's heart and that's why he was here, in the penthouse, drowning his sorrow and hurt in expensive bourbon instead of with her.

"Oh, shit." He dragged one hand through his carefully gelled black curls. "Jason, I'm sorry." The enforcer turned his neck – only a slight movement – and looked stoically at Sonny over his shoulder. "I never thought…aw, hell. I thought that by asking you to go to the island…I don't know. Look, I always knew there was something between you and Elizabeth since you came back to town last time. Whatever it was that you first felt for her when she saved your life, Jason – that changed. You looked at her differently. _She _looked at _you_ differently. And when you left, I can't imagine that it was on good terms. And I-I just thought that by putting you two together on that island, I was giving you a chance to talk things out and…" Somehow admitting to his Cupid complex out right didn't seem appropriate given the gravity of the situation. "I didn't want you to get hurt again."

He watched as a muscle in Jason's jaw ticked. "Look, man – I never thought…How the hell could she still want Spencer after everything he put her through? The kid's a monster! He flipped out on Nikolas, he pushed her away and broke her heart, he poisoned his own damn cousin, he tried to kill his father – he deserves to be locked up somewhere!" Sonny's coal-black eyes were glittering with fury. "And yet she still decides to go back to him? After – After everything you two have been through? She just walked out on you? Look, I've always liked Elizabeth, but sometimes that girl-"

"She said she loved me."

The simple statement extinguished the fire of Sonny's words, and the mobster could only stare at his friend who was still standing with his arms braced over the bar. Jason didn't move, and neither did Sonny, as those words remained suspended between them. A slow grin spread on the kingpin's face, bringing out his dimples, and he had to look away for a moment.

"She said she loved you."

Jason's eyes met his, and even in his own relief and happiness at his friend's situation, Sonny could still see the fear in the enforcer's eyes. "Yeah."

He crossed his arms over his chest, studying his feet as he tried to wipe the beaming grin off his face with little success. "Wow." Sonny looked up again, still smiling broadly, and Jason straightened. "That's good," he replied softly.

The enforcer dipped his head. "Yeah."

"That's _real_ good," Sonny couldn't help adding as his eyes twinkled.

"Yeah," Jason got out on a soft sigh. "It is."

His boss and mentor quirked a dark brow at him. "Then would you mind telling me what the hell your problem is?"

A sigh rattled through his chest and Jason turned away, tempted to reach for the bourbon again. His gaze swept across the mantle over the fireplace as he slowly turned, blinking at the bright light that streamed into the penthouse from the balcony.

"Elizabeth and I…" His voice was soft and faraway. "We always work best when we're alone. When we're far away from everyone else. That's how it started between us, and that's how it…ended. When I left."

Sonny said nothing, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he listened carefully. Jason was never the one to pour out his feelings and if something was bothering him to such a degree that he actually felt the need to do so, he'd listen carefully and do his best to help.

"We met that night at Jake's, and when she sat down at the table and began to tell me why she was there and what she was doing – it was like no one else was around. To this day, I can't tell you how long we sat there and talked. It might have been five minutes; it might have been five hours. And when we'd meet after that – in the park, on the docks – it was the same way. It was just the two of us. When she – when she pulled me out of the snow and took me to her studio, it was just us. She kept me safe and hidden from everyone, and she wouldn't back off no matter how much your or Carly pushed her."

Sonny looked away, still not having gotten past his guilt at that point in their history. He wasn't proud of what he had done to Jason that night, but he thanked the Good Lord that good things had come out of it. He had a wife and a son, and Jason had…Jason had his Elizabeth.

"When I came back last time, she did the same thing. She kept me safe, she kept me hidden even though it meant lying to her friends and to L-Lucky. She wasn't worried about any of that." He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long breath he didn't know he had been holding. "I think that's when I fell in love with her."

Sonny nodded solemnly with understanding, his surprise at Jason's frankness overshadowed by his gratitude that his friend would actually share this with him.

"But whenever anyone else factored into the equation…that's when things went wrong. Nikolas and Audrey – I remember when they came into her studio back when I was shot. Elizabeth had to tell them that we were s-sleeping together. And before long, the whole town had labeled her as my whore." He said the words with complete disgust, still angered that any of the townsfolk could think something like that about her. "Carly would always pick a fight with her for no reason other than the fact that she hated her for helping me. And then Lucky…"

His voice trailed off and he looked away, and Sonny suddenly realized what was troubling his friend so. "You're afraid that since she said that to you while you were both away, things might change now that she's back in Port Charles."

Jason's piercing eyes darted up to his and he didn't bother to deny what the older man had said. "I don't want to keep doubting her. I don't."

"I know," Sonny replied honestly. "But I also think it's understandable."

"She told me she loved me," he murmured, as if he still didn't believe it himself. "That should be enough. I shouldn't be-"

"But you are," the mobster reminded him bluntly. "That doesn't make you a bad person, Jason."

His blue eyes blazed. "I don't trust her," he spat out. "What kind of man am I that the woman I love tells me she loves me and I don't fucking trust her?"

"It's not that you don't trust her," Sonny disagreed. "Like it or not, Jason, you're just nervous."

The mobster frowned. "I'm _never_ nervous."

Sonny's dimples emerged once more. "First time for everything, right?" He watched Jason scowl in disbelief before sobering up and continuing. "You're just nervous, Jason – that's all. It's not about trusting her or not trusting her. It's all been pretty sudden for the two of you – I don't know _what_ I was interrupting when I called but obviously, it was something." He didn't even expect Jason to deny it. "And then all of a sudden you learn that you can come back with her to Port Charles, and that her boyfriend's fine now. And then she tells you she loves you. It happened fast, man – you're allowed to be nervous."

Jason sighed wearily as he struggled to accept the truth in Sonny's words. "So all I can do, then, is just wait for her to do what she has to do."

Sonny smiled sympathetically. "Might as well have some bourbon while we wait."

* * *

"It's good to see you two back together again," Elizabeth said softly, her eyes sparkling when Nikolas wrapped an arm around Gia. "I haven't seen you happy for a long time."

"Hard to be happy considering what we were up against," Nikolas admitted with a wry smile. "But we got through okay, didn't we?"

Elizabeth didn't say anything, remaining silent as Gia cuddled closer to her boyfriend and stole his glass of orange juice. They had been sitting together for about twenty minutes and they'd talked endlessly. She was given all the gory details of Stavros' demise, and she was just thankful that Nikolas didn't seem to be emotionally scarred from it. Thankfully, the topic of Lucky hadn't come up and Nikolas had been careful to make sure it didn't. Gia, however, wasn't nearly as tactful as her royal boyfriend.

"We got through great," she replied with a smile, looping her arm through his and letting her chin rest on his shoulder. "You know, Elizabeth, no offence or anything, but I never believed that a girl like you could _really_ steal Nikolas away from a girl like _me_."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "That's great, Gia." She had forgotten how completely annoying the model could be. Nikolas smiled at her apologetically, and she returned his warm gaze.

"I mean, we're back together and it's just like it was before any of this crap started," she announced. "And speaking of which, I'm _dying_ to know what happened on the little island that Corinthos carted you off to."

"Nothing much," she replied blandly, sweeping her fingertip over the rim of her mug.

Gia's black eyes glittered. "I hear that you had _Jason Morgan_ there to, uh…keep you company."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "Where the hell did you hear that?"

Nikolas looked away guiltily. "She, uh, accidentally overheard a conversation between me and Sonny last night," he admitted sheepishly.

Elizabeth's sapphire eyes narrowed into lethal slits. "Overheard, my ass – more like eavesdropped."

Gia rolled her eyes, waving a hand at her dismissively. "Overheard, eavesdropped – same difference. So tell me-" her lips curled upwards in a dirty little smirk. "Did you get lucky?"

Elizabeth groaned at her choice in words and across from her, Nikolas was appalled. "Gia, I don't think you should ask her-"

"Why not?" the model demanded haughtily. "If I was stranded on a little island and had a man like that parading around – boy, I'm telling you-"

"Please don't," Elizabeth groaned, covering her eyes. She didn't even want to _think _about what Gia would do to Jason – especially since she herself hadn't had a chance to _anything _to him.

"I second that," Nikolas agreed hastily, turning his eyes back to Elizabeth. "So, Liz-"

He was interrupted by the jingle of the little bells above Kelly's door, and all three of them looked up to see Lucky Spencer walk in. The blonde's hair was shorter now, and he was dressed in his jeans and a light corduroy jacket over his green t-shirt. He instantly spied Elizabeth and his eyes glowed with happiness.

"Elizabeth!" She tried to bite back the groan that threatened to surface, feeling dread in the pit of her stomach as he raced over and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled back to kiss her lips but she quickly pulled him into a hug again. After all, anything was better than him kissing her – especially when she wasn't his to kiss anymore.

"I missed you, baby," he whispered, rocking her back and forth. "Sonny told my dad you'd be back today, and I couldn't even sleep last night. Not without you in bed next to me."

She grimaced into his shoulder, showing the first signs of struggle as she extricated herself from his grip.

"We have to thank Sonny for what he did," Lucky prattled on, smoothing her hair with his hands. "Taking care of you on that island – I hope you weren't bored, Elizabeth. You've been there for two weeks now. But don't worry." He pulled her close and brushed his lips against hers. "We're not ever going to be apart again."

She froze the minute his lips touched hers and pushed at his chest. Surprised, Lucky's hold on her loosened and Gia watched with open fascination as Elizabeth stumbled back a step. "Lucky, we have to talk – can we go outside or somewhere-"

"Talk?" Lucky scoffed, his pale eyes still glittering with happiness. "Elizabeth, don't be silly – we have to eat breakfast. And afterwards, I thought we could go back to that church where we first said our vows." A feeling of nausea washed over her. "Father Flannigan is in today and he said he wouldn't mind if we stopped by to take another look. We always talked about getting married there in that same spot."

She stumbled back a step, shaking her head slightly. "Lucky, I-"

"We've got a lot of work to do," Lucky reminded her. "But that's okay – it's better to get married sooner rather than later. After all, there's no reason to wait anymore. I want to make you my wife as soon as possible."

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. "You can't," she croaked.

Lucky stared at her in surprise. "What did you just say?"

"You can't," she replied, more firmly this time.

The blonde's eyes narrowed. "Elizabeth, what are you saying?"

"I wasn't alone on the island, Lucky."

Nikolas winced and Gia tented her fingers, eager to see how this would play out. Lucky just frowned at her. "If you weren't alone, then who was with-"

She lifted her chin a notch. "Jason. Jason was with me."

A cold mask descended over Lucky's face as her words sank in. "Oh. Jason." He nodded once, his jaw clenched tightly. "Jason was with you."

"He was," she nodded slowly.

A fire blazed in the boy's topaz eyes. "Did he bother you, Elizabeth? God, what the fuck was Corithos _thinking_! Everyone knows that brain-dead goon can't be trusted around you! Elizabeth – did he _touch_ you? Oh, when I get my hands on that son of a bitch-"

"No, Lucky!" she exclaimed, wanting to cover her ears to escape his harsh words. "Jason would never hurt me!"

He reeled back in shock at that statement. "What? Elizabeth, you don't know what you're saying! That baboon jumped me on the docks with a knife – don't you remember? He came at me from outta nowhere!" He watched in disbelief as her eyes remained cold and unyielding. "Oh, I see. I get what's going on here – he turned you against me, didn't he?" He slammed his fist angrily into his palm. "He just couldn't get it through his cracked skull that you chose me – he tried to turn you against me!"

Still, her eyes remained cold and distant and Lucky began to grow increasingly agitated and panicky. "Wait – He didn't have to try too hard, did he?" He scowled when she didn't deny anything. "He did, didn't he, Elizabeth? He told you that I was scum and you believed it – you lapped it up, didn't you? He had you right where he wanted you!"

Elizabeth wanted to roll her eyes, but that would probably make him snap. She felt as if she was having an out-of-body experience as she watched him carry on. This was not the boy she fell in love with; the real Lucky would never stand here and say these hurtful and vicious things to her. This boy was practically accusing her of being a whore.

Lucky prowled closer, snarling viciously under his breath. "Tell me, Elizabeth – did you fuck him, too?"

Gia gasped and Elizabeth reeled back, letting her palm hit his cheek with a hard crack. Lucky gasped, having had the wind knocked out of him, and covered his burning flesh with one hand. His wide topaz eyes met Elizabeth's icy ones as she stepped forward with determination.

"You listen to me, Lucas Lorenzo Spencer," she got out, a definite edge to her voice. "Don't you _ever_ talk to me like that again. Don't you _ever_ accuse me of something like that." She tilted her head to the side as an amused smile curled her lips. "You know, this is kind of ironic. You want an honest answer, Lucky? No, I didn't _fuck him_." She eased closer, her dark eyes glittering wickedly. "But I came damn close."

Gia bit her lip as she reached for one of Nikolas' French fries – this was juicier than she would have expected.

"In fact, I would have taken him on that lovely leather chair he keeps in his office," she purred flippantly. "But, actually, _Jason_ was the one that stopped us." She didn't pay any attention to the way Lucky glowered darkly at her. He could just go to Hell. "He was the one that said that _everyone_ needed to be clear on where I stood before anything happened." She tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear, so far beyond caring that they were causing a scene that it was laughable. "You know, I was actually pretty upset with him for that. I felt like he was making me feel cheap – just like what you did just now. But he was right. _Everyone _needs to be clear with where I stand before anything happens."

Her eyes met Francis' through the door to Kelly's and she slowly reached for her purse. "So let me elucidate here." She raised her chin, staring him defiantly in the eyes and didn't care one bit about who was listening to her announcement. "I can't marry you. I _won't _marry you. And I won't be with you anymore, either. And why?"

She glanced at Nikolas and Gia, who looked like her eyes might bug out of her sockets at any given second, and then met Lucky's gaze coolly. "Because I am in love with Jason Morgan. And he's the only man I want to be with."

Elizabeth slid her purse strap over her shoulder and nodded slightly at Francis, who pulled the front door open in anticipation of her exit. She turned first to Nikolas and his girlfriend, who only stared at her in shock. "Thank you for everything, Nikolas. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."

"I love you, Liz," the young man got out, unable to meet his brother's gaze and so choosing instead to meet only hers. "I want nothing but the best for you. Just…be careful, okay?"

She answered him with only a Mona Lisa smile before she turned to look at Lucky. "Goodbye, Lucky."

And with that, she walked out to where Francis was waiting for her and never looked back.


	13. Safe Haven prt 13

**Note: **Somehow, I forgot to post this chapter! I went straight from chapter 12 to the epilogue. My apologies.

**Safe Haven - part 13**

Audrey Webber looked at her youngest granddaughter with tears visible in her pale blue eyes. Her hands were trembling so much that she finally gave up and set the teacup and saucer down on the coffee table, bringing her fidgeting hands back into her lap to smooth imaginary wrinkles out of her pale pink skirt.

"You're sure about this, darling?" Her voice was tremulous, and her doe-like eyes begged the young woman in front of her to reconsider. But she knew her youngest granddaughter well – when she had her heart and mind set on something, she didn't back down.

Elizabeth slowly placed her own teacup and saucer onto the coffee table, but unlike her Gram, she didn't fidget or seek for something to occupy her hands. Instead, the young woman was composed and resolute. "Yes, Gram, I'm sure. I'm…very sure."

There was no mistaking the heartfelt conviction in her voice and Audrey tried furiously to blink away her tears. "I…I feel as if I just got you back, Elizabeth, and now I have to lose you all over again."

The brunette's sapphire orbs instantly filled with love and compassion for the stately woman on the couch in front of her. Her soft, smooth hand sought the rough, wrinkled one and she twined their fingers, squeezing the old hand in reassurance. "You'll never lose me, Gram. Never." The old woman hesitantly brought her tired eyes to meet Elizabeth's once more. "I just can't stay in Port Charles any longer. I can't."

"I understand why," Audrey admitted slowly, reluctantly. "I wish this wasn't how things were going to be, but I have to admit that I do understand why you feel the need to…leave. To just get out and leave all these things behind you."

"Not all things," Elizabeth clarified, quirking a sympathetic and bittersweet half-smile at her beloved grandmother. "Not you. Never you. And not forever, either, Gram."

The old woman nodded weakly, swallowing around the large lump in her throat. Her fingers squeezed Elizabeth's now with the same tenacity the young woman had shown to her previously. "I don't want you to go, dear, but I don't want to be your reason for staying here, either. You need to leave for a while. I understand. And I hope you know that I will always support you, no matter what you decide."

A relieved smile broke across Elizabeth's face and she wrapped her arms around her Gram's delicate frame. "Oh, thank you, Gram," she sighed softly into the old woman's gray hair. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, my dear heart," Audrey sighed, pulling back to frame Elizabeth's face in her gnarled fingers as she stared seriously into the sapphire eyes. "But I must question you once more: are you sure – about _everything_?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, her Gram's mistrust coming as no surprise. A smirk claimed her lips as she raised a brow at the old woman and tilted her chin up a notch. "Yes, Gram, I'm sure about Jason."

The old woman sighed, not liking it but knowing better than to protest. That never did her any good. "I'll never know why."

"You don't have to like him, Gram," Elizabeth reminded her with a soft smile before her face turned serious. "Just please don't hate him."

Audrey's eyes softened and she tenderly stroked the young woman's silky chestnut locks. "My darling, you love him. And that alone is reason enough for me not to hate him. If he makes you happy, then he must not be as reprehensible as I'm prone to believing."

Elizabeth shook her head the veiled dig, unable to suppress a grin. "Gram…"

"Oh, hush," Audrey chided teasingly. "I'll never say it to his face – that's the best you'll get out of me." The two women shared a laugh at that before Elizabeth fidgeted and Audrey recognized her impatience to return to the arms of the man she loved. "I'll miss you, my darling. I was…I was so lonely after your grandfather passed on, before you or Sarah came into my life." Fresh tears sprang to her eyes. "You and your sister brought me more happiness and joy than I thought I'd be able to feel after Steve. I was always so proud of you, Elizabeth. I'm so proud of the young woman you've become."

Elizabeth rose from the couch and stepped into her Gram's warm hug. "I love you so much, Gram," she whispered, holding the old woman tightly. "You made me feel wanted here in Port Charles – you made me feel like I always had a home with you. That was more than my own parents did." A lone tear slid from the outside corner of one glistening sapphire orb. "I'll call you every day, okay? You'll hear from me so much you'll get sick of me!"

The old woman laughed and linked her hands with those of her granddaughter's. "I want you to enjoy yourself, Elizabeth. You deserve so much happiness, my darling. Even if it _is_ with _him_."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," Elizabeth smirked, narrowing her eyes playfully at the smiling woman.

"I'm just teasing, darling," Audrey murmured, lowering her chin. "If you see the good in him, then I believe it's there. I know he'll take care of you, Elizabeth, and I pray he's always able to make you happy."

Elizabeth smiled and hugged the old woman one last time. "You don't know how much that means coming from you."

* * *

Jason Morgan stood in the park, his hands stuffed deep in the pockets of his leather jacket as he stared down at the black bench less than a foot away from him. This was where it had happened. This was where they had been during their last time together in Port Charles. She had been wearing a red coat, and it had been a breezy day because her hair had been fluttering in her eyes…

He closed his eyes as a cool breeze brushed past him, playing across his cheeks like a gleeful child. This was where she had refused him in the name of Lucky Spencer. This was where she had sentenced herself to the life of a caged bird that would never know the true freedom of life outside its own domain. This was where he had stood and watched the woman he loved walk away from him.

It still hurt like hell.

_"I don't want you hurt, and I don't want you sorry. Don't…Don't you know what you mean to me?"_

His heart throbbed in his chest and Jason had to shake himself out of it. This wasn't that time; he wasn't back there again. This time, she would be coming to him. She'd be here. She'd be with him. Neither of them would be hurt and neither one of them would be sorry.

His heart was still racing as Jason told himself these things, assured himself that she'd be coming for him as soon as she finished up whatever she needed to. He had received a cryptic phone call from Francis twenty minutes earlier, telling him that Elizabeth was at her last stop and wanted him to wait in the park for her – and that he'd know where. Naturally, Jason's legs had led him to this very spot.

Footsteps clicked down the concrete pathway and Jason pivoted instantly, thinking it was her. But as the clicks grew nearer, he knew it wasn't. He could feel it – he could feel her presence and this wasn't her. Within seconds, a tall, shapely figure came into view and then a sharp, overjoyed cry pierced the warm summer air.

"Jason!" Carly Corinthos' face was alight with joy as the blonde raced into his arms, holding him to her in a fierce hug. "You're home! Sonny told me you might be coming soon but I didn't know when. I wanted to bring Michael, but he's sleeping now – you can stop by and see him tonight, right? At the penthouse-"

"Carly," Jason interrupted her softly, shaking his head once. "I can't."

The blonde stopped abruptly, peering up at him skeptically. "Why not?" Her best friend shifted his weight from one scuffed motorcycle boot to the other and suddenly it dawned on her. "Wait a minute – this is because of the Muffin, right?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "Carly…"

But the blonde was still staring back at him with a hard glint in her light hazel eyes. "No, no, Jason, for once, don't defend her. Just tell me what's going on."

The enforcer rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'm taking her away. If she wants to go, I mean," he added hesitantly.

Carly crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head at her best friend. "Damn. Something must have _really_ happened on that island, huh, Jase?"

Her irritation grew when he blushed. Now the little Twit had Jason blushing? Unbelievable. "Well?"

"I'm not telling you anything, Carly," Jason replied firmly, his twinkling eyes belying his amusement as her usual meddlesome antics.

"Oh, no!" The tall blonde's face was contorted in horror. "You slept with her, didn't you? Ew! Oh, I can't touch you now! Gross, Jason – what were you _thinking_?"

The enforcer pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, Carly, I haven't."

That calmed her down instantly. "Oh. Well. Okay. That's good." There was a brief pause in which another thought occurred to her, and the next thing Jason knew, his best friend was angrily smacking his arm. "Why do I have the feeling there was an unspoken 'yet' at the end of that statement, Jase? Huh?"

"Carly!" He had to give the infuriating blonde credit – she was at least managing to keep his mind off his troubles with her borderline-hysterical antics. "Give it a rest, okay? Elizabeth-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Carly interrupted, waving him off. "Trust me, I already got the Miracles of Virgin Muffin lecture from Sonny. What is it with you two and that little Twit?"

"Carly, I'm warning you-"

"Fine, fine," she relented. "Jeez, Jase – touchy. She doesn't walk on water, you know."

The enforcer's blue eyes glittered as he changed the subject. "I told her you said thanks, by the way."

The blonde groaned, covering her eyes with her hands. "In a brief fit of insanity – and with my luck, you probably talked it up, too. Damn, Jason!" She peeked out at him and was met only with his humorless stare. "Fine. Fine, okay? You want to hear me admit it out loud?"

"Yes."

She huffed indignantly. "Fine, Jason – only for you, though. Even Sonny couldn't get me to say this out loud again." Carly had to take a deep breath before she could continue. "She helped save my family, and for that I'm grateful. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to Mama or Lucas."

A thin smile stretched Jason's lips. "Thank you. I'm sure she'd like to hear that."

The blonde stamped one foot against the concrete. "And you're going to tell her, aren't you? Damn you, Jason."

They stood together in silence for a moment before Jason's brows furrowed. "Carly – what are you doing out here anyway?"

She shrugged. "I had a craving for a deep-fried-candy-bar-ice-cream sundae from Kelly's."

Jason didn't even bother trying to decipher any meaning from the string of seemingly unrelated words the blonde had managed to wrangle together in only a somewhat-rational sentence. "I can't believe you and Sonny are still married."

Carly grinned cheekily, but Jason's next words wiped the smile off her face. "And I thought Sonny asked you to be nice to Elizabeth. What happened to that, Carly?"

"You're really going to hold me to that, Jase?" She shook her head with disbelief. "Everyone knows that half the stuff that comes out of Sonny's mouth is meant to be ignored anyway."

"Like 'Carly, go upstairs'?" Jason teased, smirking when she scowled at him.

"You _are_ going to hold me to that, aren't you?" She was answered with a nod. "I don't like it, but okay. If you want me to do that, Jason, I will. Just please don't tell me you're in love with her or anything, and I think we'll be just fine."

She waited but heard only silence, and then her face contorted in horror again. "Jason! That's where you're supposed to tell me you're _not_ in love with her!" Again, only silence. "Oh, damn it, Jason!"

The enforcer watched, amused, as she threw a tantrum right in front of him. "She sucked you in, that little twit, didn't she? She's got you wrapped around her finger just like Robin and now you're already planning to run away with her and it's only a matter of time before she holds you at gunpoint and forces you to put a ring around her finger, and then all of a sudden I've got a bunch of spiky haired little kids calling me 'Aunt Carly'. Oh, way to go, Jase!"

Jason couldn't help it – he grinned. The sudden shift in his mood made Carly stop, and the blonde just watched him for a minute. She hated to admit it, but her best friend looked…happy. And that was good, because no one deserved to be happy more than Jason. And if the little Goody-Goody Muffin Face had a hand in that…oh, sh!t.

"I'll be nice to her, Jase," she whispered softly, inwardly pleased when his eyes shined with gratitude. "To her face, I mean."

He rolled his eyes. "Carly-"

The sound of soft footsteps interrupted him and both the enforcer and the blonde whipped around to stare in the direction that the sound was coming from. "Oh, crap," Carly hissed. "That could be her – then I'll have to be nice to her."

She quickly threw her arms around Jason's neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek, getting a smudge of lipstick on the rough skin. "I love you, Jase, and I want you to be happy. If it's with her, then I guess I'll have to suck it up." Her arms squeezed him tight and Jason hugged her back. "Take care – have fun, wherever you two go. Bye, Jason."

"Bye, Carly," he replied, smiling down at her as she looked at him one last time before taking off.

The footsteps coming from a distance were closer now, and Jason felt his breath hitch in his throat. In a few moments, a slender brunette appeared from behind the lush bushes and he was at ease again.

She stood there, staring at him, and Jason could only stare back. Elizabeth looked different than she did this morning on the jet. She had been tired then, holding herself rigidly as if bracing her body for the events of the day. Now, she looked…content. Her eyes were shining in the sunlight and her hair fluttered easily in the breeze, and she just stared straight into his eyes.

A slow smile crept across her lips and Jason watched as her eyes began to glow. He held out his arms and her smile turned into a grin as she ran for him, launching herself into his embrace. His arms wrapped tightly around her, his broad hand possessively claiming the small of her back and holding him firmly against her as he buried his face in the silky chocolate hair. His stubble rasped against the smooth porcelain of her cheek but she only pressed closer.

He shifted, turning his face, and kissed her cheek, her temple, her ear – every bit of creamy skin within his reach before pulling back and looking squarely into her eyes. "I love you, too," he whispered, remembering the last words she said to him. Those words had been playing over and over in his mind since she had left, and a feeling of tremendous relief flooded through his body at the moment that he was finally able to tell her he felt the same.

Her lashes fluttered and without a word, Elizabeth pressed her lips to his. Their mouths met and fused, lips locking together in a firm embrace. She flowered underneath him, inviting him in and responding beautifully when he plundered her mouth. And Jason took all he wanted from her – for this time she was actually his to kiss, his to want, his to need. His to take. She mewed softly, raking her nails against his scalp as he folded her up in his arms, forcing her to rise up onto her toes to meet him.

When he pulled back, Jason was very satisfied with the result. Her eyes were heavy, the lids half-drooping over the rich, fiery cobalt underneath and her lips were red and bee-stung from the work of his own. Her breathing came in shallow pants as she leaned heavily into his body, her forehead resting against his chin. Jason pressed his lips to her hairline and let his fingers get tangled up in her silky hair.

When he spoke, his voice was rusty and hoarse. "How did it go?"

She looked up at him and there was no missing the tranquil gleam in her content sapphire orbs. "It all went just fine."

Jason pulled her close again, pressing his lips hard against her forehead once more. "Good." He didn't want the details and she didn't offer them; they just stood like that, holding each other, for a long moment.

Her eyes darted around them as she turned her face against his chest. "You knew to come here."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. You just said I'd know where and…I did."

Jason's intense cerulean eyes followed hers to the black bench and then to the gate that stood a few paces away from them, and he knew she was remembering exactly what he had been thinking of earlier.

She pulled away a little and Jason let her, combing his fingers languidly through her hair as Elizabeth peered up at him. "I want to say that I made a big mistake the last time we were both here," she whispered. Jason's gaze dropped to her eyes and he remained silent. "But I can't. I know that as much as it hurt, I had to do it. I had to stay. I couldn't run away with you and leave them all behind." Jason pursed his lips, closing his eyes as she gently stroked the soft golden hair at his temple. "I'm just so sorry I sacrificed you to do it. _That_, Jason, was the biggest mistake I ever made."

He pressed her forehead to hers, his eyes still closed, and felt her warm hand on his cheek once more, compelling him to look at her. "That's why I want to do it right this time." That did the trick – Jason's eyes flew open. "Jason, I…I want to leave Port Charles. With you." Her thumb stroked his jaw in a single stroke. "I'll go wherever you want; I just…I just want to be with you, wherever you go."

She expected him to talk her out of it, to say that she was making a rash, impulsive decision and that besides all that, he had to stay in town and spend time with Michael and Carly and do some work for Sonny. Instead, Jason stepped out of her embrace and reached into the breast pocket of his worn leather jacket, his blue eyes twinkling as he extended a white envelope towards her.

Elizabeth could feel her lips twitching into a smile as her fingers closed around the edges of the packet. "What is it?"

The sparkle in his eyes rivaled the brightest gemstones. "Open it."

She undid the clasp and folded the flap of white paper back, tentatively reaching two fingers inside to pull out the contents. Two pieces of paper slid out and her eyes widened upon recognition. Tickets to Italy. One way. Her eyes instantly filled with tears and the neat print on the tickets blurred. Jason's bright eyes dimmed when he saw her shoulders shake on a sob and in one step he had her back in his arms and was rubbing her back soothingly.

"Elizabeth?" She could hear the worry in his voice and it only made her sob again. "What's wrong? Elizabeth, please-"

She stuffed the tickets back in the envelope and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, holding on for dear life and burying her face in the warm cavern of his neck. Still confused, it was all Jason could do to return her embrace with equal strength, anchoring her firmly against him. "Elizabeth-"

"They're perfect," she whispered brokenly. "Perfect."

Relief flooded through him and he rested his chin on top of her soft hair. "I'm just glad you like it."

Her soft fingers cupped his chin after she pulled back. "I love it," she whispered, using her hold to bring him down into another searing kiss. "And I love you."

They were breathing heavily again by the time their lips broke apart, and something suddenly occurred to Jason. He reached for the envelope that held the tickets and backed away a step, running a hand through his wild spikes.

"Jason?"

He gazed directly into her confused eyes. "Like you said – we're going to do it right this time."

Elizabeth could feel new tears prick her eyes when he extended one arm, his palm outstretched and waiting. She had to swallow hard before she lifted her own trembling hand and placed it softly on top of his, letting Jason pull her toward him and press another kiss to her forehead.

"Let's go."


	14. Safe Haven EPILOGUE

**Note:** This chapter contains smut, but I edited it out for this version. If you would like to read the original epilogue the way it was intended to be told, please visit my archives. You can find Safe Haven there by clicking the link in my profile. Thank you for your support throughout this story.

**Safe Haven – Epilogue **

_"Elizabeth, you're my hero."_

The brunette giggled into the receiver as she burrowed comfortably into the couch on the Corinthos-Morgan jet. "Why, thank you, thank you."

_"And my future sister-in-law."_

"EMILY!"

Halfway across the world in sunny California, her best friend could only laugh. _"Oh, please – don't tell me that you honestly think Jason's going to let you go. He's waited for you forever. He's not going to wait any longer and I bet you anything we'll be real sisters before too long."_

Elizabeth blushed, covering her face with her hand and peeking at the closed door of the bathroom where Jason was washing up. "You're terrible."

_"Ah, but my advice works – admit it."_

"Clearly, I have no other choice."

_"Damn straight! So…tell me."_

"Tell you what?" Elizabeth teased, playing with her silky chocolate locks.

_"Was Lucky pissed?"_

"Very," Elizabeth admitted. "Basically, he called me Jason's little whore and ranted and raved for a little while before I shut him up."

_"And you told him you loved Jason….aw!"_

"Emily!" Elizabeth leaned back on the couch, grinning. "Yes, I did."

_"Man, I'm so proud of you. Atta girl! And now you two are off to Italy…Oh, Elizabeth, it's perfect."_

The brunette didn't hear the bathroom door click open or the soft shuffle of Jason's socked feet on the carpet. "It is. I still can't believe he got us tickets. I completely lost it, Em."

_"It's okay, you know."_

"Oh, I do," Elizabeth assured her. "I think I freaked Jason out for a minute there with my crying, but…I couldn't help it. He asked me to go to Italy with him at the same place he did last time, and when he held out his hand for me…God."

_"Okay, stop it – you're making me tear up, too!"_

A smile spread across Elizabeth's lips and she played with the hem of her t-shirt, still not noticing Jason as he crept up behind her. "Sorry. You just have such a wonderful brother, Emily. I hope you know that."

_"Honey, you're preaching to the choir over here."_

A grin flickered across Jason's lips as he stepped into her view, and a matching smile bloomed on Elizabeth's face. She slid over on the couch and allowed him room to sit, silently mouthing to him that she was talking to Emily. Jason nodded disinterestedly and as soon as he was comfortable on the couch, he reached for her and pulled her into his lap.

_"So where are you guys going first? Venice?"_

"Uh-uh," Elizabeth answered, letting Jason tug her small body onto his legs. She cuddled up against his chest and sighed softly as his arms wrapped securely around her. "We're saving the best for last. First stop – Palermo."

_"Ooh, cool. Send me a postcard, will you?"_

"Sure," she answered, playing delicately with the shell of Jason's ear as he pressed a soft kiss to her temple. "I'll bring you back a pretty little souvenir and air-mail it out."

_"Even better. So…I have to ask you: was it really hard?"_

"What?"

_"You know, telling Lucky that you didn't love him anymore."_

Elizabeth frowned thoughtfully, the corner of her mouth lifting when Jason nipped at her earlobe. "It…wasn't as hard as it seemed. Telling Lucky that I didn't love him was something I should have done a long time ago." Her eyes and voice had softened and Elizabeth had said the last sentence more to Jason than to Emily. The enforcer's eyes shined and his large hand skimmed her waist, causing goosebumps to rise on the smooth skin. He kissed her jaw and Elizabeth leaned into him, closing her eyes as Emily's voice broke through the soft haze that enveloped them.

_"Good. Good, I'm glad. I mean…I still feel a little guilty about this. I watched you and Lucky fall in love for the first time, and part of me wishes that you didn't have to let go of your first true love just because of some vendetta Helena had, you know?"_

"Emily, first love is just that – first." Jason's hot breath fanned out across her neck and he lowered his head to nip at her collarbone as his fingers inched under the soft cotton of her shirt. "I outgrew Lucky – I'm not the same person that fell in love with him. And I know that as angry as he is with me right now, as much as he still thinks we're supposed to be together-" Jason's fingers tightened around her waist and Elizabeth reached down to twine hers with his, squeezing hard "-he'll outgrow us soon, too. That's just the way it goes. I changed, and for the longest time, I didn't want to believe that he did, too. The things he said to me today, Emily – a couple years ago, I never would have thought Lucky Spencer was capable of using those words."

Jason growled low in his throat at that, pulling her closer and trailing soft kisses down the side of her neck. Elizabeth's fingers speared through his hair as she listened patiently to her friend. _"I just want you both to be happy, Elizabeth. Lucky's been my best friend since we were kids, and I just…I want the best for him. But I want the best for you, too."_

"Hang up on her," Jason purred, smoothing one hand up her back and then down again as he buried his face in her neck and inhaled her scent. "She talks too much."

Elizabeth giggled and squirmed, batting away his exploring fingers. "Thanks, Em."

_"And the best for you right now is definitely my brother. You know, sometimes I really can't believe that you two…happened, you know?"_

Jason groaned, sensing a long, heartfelt conversation on the horizon and Elizabeth could only laugh at his childish pout. "We happened, all right."

Her best friend laughed. _"Well, I know that – just spare me the details, okay? It's just that…he's my big brother. And you're my best friend."_

"Now that we know who everyone is, hang up," Jason instructed, pressing closer to kiss her collarbone. Elizabeth squirmed and tried to lean her back against his strong chest.

_"And even though it's kinda weird…I don't know. It doesn't have to be weird, does it?"_

"No," Elizabeth answered, her breath catching in her throat as Jason raked his teeth over her earlobe. "It doesn't."

_"Right – as long as you don't tell me about your sex life,"_ Emily clarified.

Jason buried his nose in her hair, whispering low in her ear. "If she keeps this up, there won't be anything to tell."

Elizabeth stifled a laugh and elbowed him in the stomach. "You don't have to worry about that, Em. I promise I'll keep you blissfully unaware."

_"Good! That's good. So what's my brother doing right now? Where is he?"_

"He's – Oh! Jason!" He had just begun suckling on the soft, warm porcelain of her neck, fully intent on marking her as his own, and Elizabeth's fingers were trembling so much at the sensations he was creating in her that she almost dropped the phone she had just yelped into.

_"What? Are you all right? Elizabeth? Oh, wait…ew!"_

"Jason Morgan-" Her indignant little cry turned into a whimper as he bit down gently on the spot he had just bruised, and Elizabeth's fingers curled into the denim of his blue jeans.

_"Oh, God, Elizabeth – ew! Is he touching you? That's nasty, Jason! Do you hear me? Nast-"_

Jason broke away long enough to grab the phone from Elizabeth's hand and held it to his ear. "Goodbye, Emily." With that, he clicked it off and threw it over his shoulder before pulling the panting brunette into a long, hard kiss.

When he set her free, Elizabeth's lips were swollen and bruised. She leaned her forehead against his as he tried to work his hands under her shirt, and a small smirk rose to claim her lips. Letting out a little huff, she reached behind her and grabbed his wrists, shaking her head when his blue eyes snapped open.

"Not so fast, Morgan."

He couldn't tell whether she was joking or not and instead just stared at with a look of pure bewilderment on his face. Quirking a brow at her, Jason tried to gently break free and resume his mission but Elizabeth held him fast.

"What did I say, Jason?" Her blue eyes sparkled as she pretended to scold him.

Jason's lips formed a perfectly delectable pout that Elizabeth couldn't resist kissing sweetly. Her lips lingered over his, teasing him, and their fingers twined together. Her breath mingled with his and their noses were touching as the brunette slowly forced her heavy eyes open and looked straight into his.

"You've waited two weeks, Morgan – you can handle two more hours."

* * *

Dusk had fallen over Palermo when Jason and Elizabeth arrived at their hotel. A dark-haired bellhop carried Elizabeth's duffel – Jason had instantly grabbed his own without waiting for the young man – and led them to their room.

Elizabeth was yawning as he opened the door, but she stopped midway as soon as her eyes fell on the room she and Jason would share for the night. It was an elegant suite and they had just been led into the main parlor. The bellhop set her bag on the floor where Jason motioned and after receiving his tip, scuttled off. Jason closed the door behind him and glanced at Elizabeth, who was taking in her surroundings with wide eyes.

Smiling softly, Jason grabbed both their bags and took them to the bedroom. The sight that awaited him met his satisfaction. The room was large and modestly decorated. A simple armoire stood in the corner and he found a handsome, ornate dresser of dark wood nearby. The carpets were pale and thick, embroidered in dark, rich colors. A king-size bed sat against the wall and a mischievous smirk claimed his lips. He'd be putting that to good use tonight.

Elizabeth had finished exploring the rest of the suite and now entered the master bedroom behind him. She fingered the carvings on the dresser, pulled open the armoire and sniffed inside it, a little quirk that amused Jason tremendously. Her hand skimmed over the baseboard of the large bed as she set off to explore the bathroom.

She flicked on the light and almost gasped. The bathroom was _gigantic_, fully equipped with two sinks and tons of counter space, enormous mirrors, heated tiles, a luxurious shower, and a spacious bathtub with jets and bubbles that she knew she wouldn't mind trying out later. Jason had followed her in and was now pulling out his razor and aftershave, placing them on the counter along with their toothbrushes for easy access in the morning. Elizabeth slipped past him and pulled open a tiny closet in the bathroom, curious to see what was inside, and Jason watched her in the mirror. The petite brunette's face instantly flooded with color as she opened the door to reveal two silk robes – one long black one, and one short pink one.

Jason let out a chuckle as he zipped up his travel pouch and dropped it in one of the drawers, and Elizabeth's startled eyes met his in the mirror. "Don't worry," he smirked, sauntering out of the bathroom. "We won't need those." And it was true – he didn't want _anything_ hiding her glorious body from his view.

The enforcer was pulling his gun out of his duffel bag and checking it, making sure the safety was on, when Elizabeth entered the bedroom once more. This time, the little brunette headed straight to the sprawling balcony where hundreds of tiny stars twinkled merrily at her. Jason looked up, watching as she stepped into the warm night air and leaned her arms on the ledge, and quickly placed his gun in the nightstand drawer for safe-keeping. He waited a moment before slowly following her out.

Her back was toward him and her eyes were closed, and a soft smile graced her lips as he slipped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Jason nodded softly. "Yeah, it is."

The entire city stretched out beneath them. Their hotel provided a marvelous view of all of Palermo, and Jason could see everything he had read about in his favorite travel book. Twining his fingers with hers, he raised their hands together and pointed into the distance.

"You see that, there?"

She nodded once, nestling back against him and tucking her head under his chin. "Yeah?"

"That's the Teatro Massimo," he murmured, squeezing her fingers. "And see all that right by it? That's the Vucciria Market."

She surveyed it all, captivated, and Jason's breath rustled through her dark hair. "Can we go down there tomorrow?"

Jason nodded immediately. "Yeah, sure. We can check out the Cappella Palatina, too, if you like."

She tilted her head, gazing up at him with wide eyes. "What's that?"

His nose bumped innocently against hers. "It's a beautiful chapel full of glass mosaics. You'd like it."

"The way the light shines through the glass?" she smiled knowingly, her soft fingers gently tickling his chin. "Would I like that?"

Jason's cerulean eyes smoldered as his gaze bore into hers. "You'd _love_ that."

Something shifted in the air between them, and Elizabeth gulped quietly. Jason's grip on her waist tightened and she felt his muscles tense. Heat radiated off of his body, seeping in through her clothes, and her fingers on his jaw now traveled back to his neck, intent on pulling him closer.

He didn't need much coaxing. Their lips met, mingled, and finally seized one another. Jason's hand spanned her waist, easily turning around so he had better leverage and was able to deepen the kiss. She opened her mouth slowly for him, blooming under his purposeful lips like a closed flower blossoming for the first warm rays of the morning sun. The tip of his tongue skimmed her lips, experimenting before entering, and Elizabeth mewed softly under his advances.

She pulled him in completely, standing on her toes now, and Jason backed her up against the wide ledge of the balcony. Wrapping his arms securely around her, he forced her head to tip back as she sucked on his tongue. Fingers tangled in her soft brown hair, and Elizabeth's hands bunched up in the cotton of his t-shirt. Their tongues mated softly, engaging in a sensual dance in the sweet, warm recesses of her mouth.

When he pulled back, Jason was entirely out of breath and Elizabeth was starry-eyed. She lifted her gaze to his and Jason's heart thundered in his chest as he watched her dark pupils eclipse the cobalt blue of her incredible eyes.

"Jason?" His name was whispered across his lips and he could feel himself being sucked deep into her bedroom eyes. "Take me inside."

His long fingers gently closed around Elizabeth's shapely calves as he guided her to wrap her legs around his waist. Sucking in a deep breath when their foreheads touched, Jason reached around to cup her bottom in his large hands and gently lifted her off the stone ledge of the balcony.

Her heat seeped in through the denim of his jeans instantly, causing him to harden in the cradle of her thighs. Elizabeth mewed into his mouth, her clipped nails biting into his neck, and Jason blindly walked them back to the bed.

The curtains billowed softly, dancing in the gentle breeze, as Jason finally managed to find the bed. He set her down gently on top of it and that was when her small fingers fisted in his shirt and pulled him right down to her. The night was vibrant and pulsating around them, blanketing them in its soft warmth as Jason and Elizabeth lost themselves in each other.

* * *

It was a long while before either of them could move. Jason had collapsed to Elizabeth's right side, careful even in the unbridled intensity of his pleasure not to hurt her, and her fingers were splayed out over his heart. The vital organ thundered under her hand, pulsing with the renewed life she brought to his body and his world.

Her eyes were still closed when she felt him pull her close, into his side. Elizabeth blindly kissed his chest, her soft hair falling in lacy tendrils across her cheek. Jason gazed down at her lovingly and brushed it away, his limbs still numb and shrouded in the residual haze of his climax.

"I love you, Elizabeth."

He could see the tears in her eyes when she finally opened them, gracing him with the brilliance of her sapphire orbs, and the brunette's fingers cherishingly traced his jaw. "I love you, too, Jason Morgan. And I don't ever want to be without you again."

He turned on his side, facing her, and pressed a kiss to her lips, assuring her without words that they wouldn't be apart as long as they held onto what made tonight so special. As long as they held onto the love and friendship and trust that had brought them together in the first place, they'd always find each other. They'd always find their way home.

A smirk claimed his lips. "If I had known that 'glass mosaic' was the magic phrase, I'd have used it a long time ago."

A pretty blush stole across her cheek. "It was more than that and you know it."

Jason laughed and pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin. "Admit it, Elizabeth – something about glass turns you on." He glanced down at her. "Do you still have that red glass I gave you?"

The light in her eyes dimmed and her fingers dancing across his chest stilled. Noticing the silence, Jason shifted to get a better look at her. "Elizabeth?"

She wouldn't meet his gaze. "I broke it."

"What?"

The brunette closed her eyes and cursed herself. A perfect night – perfect in every way – and she had to ruin it like this. "I…I was so angry with you, and I…broke it."

He didn't say anything and instead just stroked her hair. Tears welled up in Elizabeth's eyes and her lower lip trembled. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Jason."

The enforcer shook his head and pulled away, a movement which caused one fat tear to fall from Elizabeth's lashes. Certain that he was getting out of bed, the brunette angrily swiped at her eyes and sniffed. But Jason didn't leave the bed – he only scrounged around in his jeans which lay on the floor by the bed, and when he finally found what he was looking for, he scooted closer to her again.

The tears on her smooth porcelain cheeks startled him, and he quickly wiped them away with the pad of his thumb. Elizabeth didn't notice the small black box he held and instead, the little brunette opened her mouth in an attempt to make him understand what had been going on in her mind at that time even if she didn't herself.

"I thought that you had hurt Lucky and then lied about it," she got out, tucking her hair behind her ear and pulling the sheets up over herself. "I…I didn't know what was going on – you had never lied to me before, even though I know now that you didn't, Jason. And I just went to the studio and saw the glass and the next thing I knew, I was throwing it and…"

"Elizabeth." He placed a finger under her chin and forced her to look up at him. Jason's eyes were soft and tender as he just gazed into the wet and glistening blue orbs he loved so much, and gently brushed a feather-soft kiss over her lips. "This is for you."

She gulped past the lump in her throat when she finally noticed the little box he held. When he deposited it in her hands, she realized it was made of velvet and her confused eyes met his. "What's this for?"

"For you."

Still confused, she could only sniffle away her tears and compose herself before opening it. Jason watched her eagerly with baited breath as she eased the lid open, and then her soft gasp met his ears.

"Oh, Jason…"

Nestled in the small jewelry box lay a stunning pendant on a silver chain. At first glance, she thought it was the same kind of red glass he had given her on Valentine's day. But as she pulled it out, she discovered that it was double sided. The pendant bore a circular sliver of red glass on one side, and then a silver plate separated the red from an identical piece of blue glass on the other side.

"What-"

He gently took it from her hand and undid the clasp. "I saw this in Verona while I was…gone. This old woman had made a bunch of them and was selling them in the marketplace. I saw the blue first and…" Those intense cerulean orbs met hers and sparkled, "it reminded me of your eyes. And then I saw a red one and I asked her if there was a way she could put them both in one necklace."

She closed her eyes, thanking her lucky stars that twinkled above for bringing this wonderful, loving man into her life. "Jason…"

His finger pressed against her lips and he shook his head. She leaned closer and brushed her hair aside, letting him slide the necklace onto her neck and clasp it in the back. Jason pulled back and they both looked at it, admiring the way it sparkled and glittered in the moonlight.

When Elizabeth's gaze met his, the delight and love shining in the depths of her warm sapphire eyes was undeniable. "I love it. I…I still can't believe you did all this for me."

His long fingers combed through her velvety locks. "Elizabeth, I would do _anything_ for you."

The whispered confession brought tears to her eyes and the brunette pulled him forward, letting her forehead rest against his. "After everything, Jason-"

The enforcer's long finger found her lips once more. "No, Elizabeth. Everything that happened between us – it's behind us. I know why you did what you did –" His voice was as rough as sandpaper, thick with emotion, "-it doesn't hurt anymore, Elizabeth."

She pressed a hand to his heart as if to confirm his admission. "I don't ever want to hurt you again, Jason. I don't want you to be hurt."

"I know." His lips brushed against hers. "And I don't want you sorry. You can't let this eat away at you, Elizabeth – let it go." He pressed his mouth firmly against hers. "Let it go."

A choked sob escaped her and she pulled him close, sliding into his lap and letting him wrap his arms tightly around her. "I want to, Jason."

His fingers delved into her hair, stroking her nape. "Good. Because we have so much more to live for, Elizabeth – there are so many things I want to show you, so many places I want to take you. This is just the beginning, Elizabeth. We're going to do it all."

She peeked up at him with a shy smile. "And we're gonna live through it slow."

His heart swelled up with pride and a warmth that only she could bring to him, and Jason gazed reverently down into the eyes that revealed her soul to him. A shaky breath escaped his lips as Jason leaned down, seeking hers. "We're going to _live_, Elizabeth."

**The End.**


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